


Momo's impulse baby

by Stripedpenguinsocks



Category: Free!
Genre: Baby Fic, Fluff, Future AU, M/M, flightlesscrowkids on tumblr's idea, momo impulse adopted a baby, prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-04-11 19:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4448696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stripedpenguinsocks/pseuds/Stripedpenguinsocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ai knew that something was wrong when his day was so normal. He should have known that when Momo called him, his life wouldn't be the same. He should have known, yet he was still shocked when the call came. But who could blame him?</p><p>"You stole a baby?!"<br/>“I didn’t steal it! I swear it’s all perfectly legal! I Adopted.”</p><p>(You can follow the actual tumblr blog Shouta-mikoshiba.tumblr.com to see the pictures Ai and Momo take!)</p><p>7/15/16: On hold! (not for long hopefully)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Phone calls

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I could say that I thought of the Idea on my own but I didn't. Idea credits go to flightlesscrowkids on tumblr! It was an amazing Idea and thanks for letting me turn it into a fic! I hope you like it, even though my writing skills are basically non existent.

Ai had always known that Momo was a ‘do it on impulse’ kind of person, but this was ridiculous.

The orange haired twenty-two year old had gone way too far this time. Ai was having a pleasant day, minding his own business, actually waking up early for once. He smiled and walked the three blocks to the elementary school that morning, going through his schedule in his head.

Humming pleasantly, he strided through the school doors and greeted the people in the office taking the absent calls before grabbing his classroom keys. It had all been so calm and casual, he probably should have suspected that something was wrong, but he was too happy enjoying his day to really dwell on why things were so… normal. In all of his twenty-three years of life, Aiichiro Nitori, had never had such a peaceful, undisturbed day.

So when the call came from his energetic friend he shouldn’t have been surprised that something life changing had just happened.

 

“You what?!” The silver haired man kept his voice as calm and collected as he could as he screamed into the phone. He could practically hear the other male flinch at his harsh tone. Ai had been in the middle of class when he called, luckily (or unluckily) all his kindergarteners were napping so he had time to talk.

 

“I did something very stupid and I need help!” Momo sounded as if he were going to break down into tears. Which was understandable considering his situation.

 

“You stole a Baby!” desperately trying to hold onto the last bit of his sanity, Ai took deep breaths. He nervously glanced around, he hadn’t woken any of the kids right?

 

“I didn’t steal it! I swear it’s all perfectly legal! I Adopted.” Sighing, Ai rubbed his temples. He was puzzled on what exactly just happened. He was about to speak again when Momo said in a quieter voice, “You told me I’d be a great dad.”

 

Exasperated, Ai snapped rather loudly, “I was giving you a compliment! Not permission, Momo, Oh my god!”

 

Silence was all that was coming from the other line. The usually calm male was beginning to lose his temper. But he really couldn’t be all that surprised. In all honesty, he should have expected it, Momo was Momo after all. Biting back his frustration he calmly spoke again, “Fine. I’ll come over after I finish work. Wait.”

And he hung up.

Closing his eyes, he figured that he should rest while he could. He didn’t reopen them until he felt a tug on his pants.

 

“Nitori-sensei. What’s wrong?” A shining pair of brown eyes looked up at the kindergarten teacher. Letting out a breath, Ai ruffled the little boys hair and smiled.

 

“Oh, nothings really wrong Hinata. My friend just did something very, uh, bad.” Getting a puzzled look in return, Ai expanded, “My friend, he only has a small job at the local Aquarium, he doesn't make much. Anyways, he just impulse adopted a baby. He doesn’t even have a girlfriend, let alone a wife, to help him.” Ai sighed again. The little boy tilted his head, obviously not understanding.

 

The little boy looked up at him with a determined expression, “I...I don’t really know what you mean but… But isn’t a baby a good thing?”

 

Ai couldn’t help but giggle at the boys innocence. Kindergarteners were so pure hearted. “Yes Hinata, they are usually a good thing. But knowing my friend, this is also going to become a lot more work for me.”

 

“Well, you will be good sensei! You take good care of us. You’ll be better than those girls.” Hinata's nose scrunched up. Giggling again, Ai recalled the little kindergarten girls forcing the poor boy into playing house by repeatedly hitting him with a baby doll.

 

"Thank you Hinata."

 

~~~

 

The walk to Momo's house was the longest and most stressful walk Ai had ever had. A very big difference compared to this morning. The elementary school that Ai worked at was five blocks away from Momo’s small apartment, Ai only had five blocks to collect his thoughts. The sun was still in the sky when he arrived at the big building. The tired boy lugged his feet up six whole flights of stairs. Six! Momo sacrificed being able to access his apartment easily for a fairly large living space. Ai knew that the cheap apartment was only cheap because of the lack of elevator and other than that the apartment was great but. Why couldn't Momo just be normal?

 

When Ai unlocked the door to the apartment, he nearly killed himself by slipping on a toy that was carelessly thrown. Ai carefully navigated to the living room, making sure not to step on any of the clutter.

 

"Momo? Where are you?" Ai followed the screaming, but he couldn't find the source.

 

"Here! Help!" The strangled cry came from behind the dark colored sofa. The wails began to grow as Ai neared.

 

"Momo!" Ai looked down at the man that he could now consider his best friend. Momo smiled weakly up at the silver haired person in front of him.

 

"Ai! I want you to meet," Momo began to stand up, "Shouta Mikoshiba!"

 

Ai fell in love. He could feel his heart being pierced by an arrow the moment his blue eyes saw the pudgy baby's face.

The baby fussed. Whiny little thing. But Ai had grown up around babies his whole life, and considering how whiny his little siblings were this was nothing.

 

"Ah, Momo what is the problem?" Ai shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

 

"He won't stop crying! Not to mention, I have nothing for a baby here. I need help!" Momo's eyes teared up a bit. The other man sighed. Of course Momo didn't have anything for a baby. How the hell did he pass all of the tests for adoption?

 

"Well then we have to make a list. Then we can run out to the store and go shopping." Ai rationalized. He began thinking of things while wandering into Momo's kitchen in search of the yellow legal pad he kept.

 

"Well, we need the basics. Diapers, wipes, bottles, formula." Ai began to quickly scribble on the pad as he leaned on the couch next to the two others. "I see that you at least have a crib and changing table. So those are two big things out of the way."

 

Momo nodded, helplessly trying to calm the baby. "We need some clothes too."

 

"Here you write." The yellow pad and pen was placed on the back of the couch as Ai took the crying ball from Momo. Ai felt his heart pound with delight. He was holding a baby. Holding little Shouta. His heart swelled with pride and happiness. The baby calmed as he pressed its head against his chest. The lulled baby was calm at last.

 

"Oh we also need- Momo?" Momo started at him with amazement laced in his expression.

 

"Huh? Oh. Sorry. How did you do that?" Momo sat dumbfounded.

 

"Haha, it takes practice. But we also need bibs and lots of Lysol. The place has to be as clean and sterile as possible." Ai laughed at the starstruck expression. The redhead scribbled furiously on the pad so fast Ai was scared he would start a fire.

 

"I think we're good! I've saved up some money so we can go shopping. Uh, when should we go?" Ai smiled to himself as the man in front of him nervously scratched the back of his head.

 

"Well, considering that this diaper won't last forever, I suggest now." The baby began to slowly fall asleep as he felt the soft rocking motion. Momo nodded eagerly and wandered in the direction of his bedroom. He came back moments later with a wallet and his phone.

 

"Oh before we leave," Momo extended his phone out and took a picture of the three of them, "This is Shouta's first shopping trip."

 

"Ah, so you're making a scrapbook?" The thought of Momo sitting down and taking time to make a scrapbook made Ai want to giggle again. Momo didn't seem like the type.

 

"No, that takes too much work. I made a tumblr account to keep pictures and memories on." Momo smiled. Tumblr, how childish. But childish was Momo's middle name, "follow him so that you can see pictures of him. I'm adding a link to your blog to this!"

 

"But Momo, I haven't used that account since I was in highschool. I don't even think I remember the password." Momo seemed to not have heard him. Or more like he choose not to hear him.

 

"Look how cute the picture is!" He waved his phone up and down to emphasize the fact that it was cute.

 

"Ah. Momo can you please stop moving it, I can't see it properly." The movement was making Ai dizzy. The silver haired man took the phone with one hand and tried to balance Shouta with the other. The picture was admittedly cute.  Momo had placed an arm around a slightly shocked looking Ai while Shouta rested peacefully oblivious in the shorter's arms. The baby was cute, tuffs of tiny light orange hair poked out from under his hat as he sucked on a pacifier with a picture of an otter on it.

Ai's heart did one of those weird flipping things again as he ran his thumb over Shouta's picture. His thumb moved up and he read the comment underneath.

"Shouta's first family outing!

Ai's blog"

 

And Ai could feel himself flush. Family? Well, Ai was probably the really cool uncle that Shouta would adore... But the picture was suggesting otherwise. Momo didn't seem to notice what he could or couldn't have been implying but Ai sure did. But did he really care? No. Well, maybe a little, but there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

Ai dragged his thumb up to find the previous post. It was a picture of Shouta in a stroller, sleeping. The caption was "Welcome to your new home Shouta Mikoshiba!"

 

Ai looked at the picture and back down to the actual real life thing. Pretty photogenic baby if you asked him. "Ai, you ready to go?"

 

Momo finished preparing the stroller, collapsing it so that he could carry it down the stairs.  Ai then slipped on his shoes. He waited for Momo to put on his sneakers before walking down the hall with the baby.

They made small talk as they walked down the six flights of stairs, chatting about how Ai's day was at the elementary school. Momo struggled for a minute when they got outside, wrestling with the stroller trying to open it. An older couple passed them on the street smiling.

 

"Oh he is just so cute." The elderly lady cooed and Ai's face lit up.

 

"Thank you!"

 

"Ah, how old is he?" The lady leaned her face closer to Shouta. Ai looked at Momo, how old was Shouta?

 

"A month and three days. Ahh." Momo was still trying to open the stroller. Ai looked lovingly back down at the baby, so young. So cute. His loving look was only broken and replaced by sheer embarrassment when the woman spoke again.

 

"You two will get the hang of it, all new parents do, soon enough that stroller will open by you just glaring at it."

 

She laughed and her husband gave a warm smile. Ai blushed, unsure of how he could politely correct them because while this was Momos baby and yes Momo would get the hang of it, Shouta was not Ai's. Ai couldn't help but wonder if Momo caught the woman's casual comment. It didn't seem like he did...

 

"Ah. You two have a nice family stroll. We'll be on our way." She waved and continued walking, or shuffling, down the path.

 

"How's the stroller coming along?" Ai heard a quick pop and a cry of victory. This probably meant that he fixed it.

 

Placing the now drowsy baby in the stroller, Ai placed a tiny kiss to Shouta's forehead. He was warming up to the little guy. Well that wasn't true, he loved Shouta the minute he saw him, kind of like love at first sight. Momo was going to need help, and it was a good thing that Ai was a kindergarten teacher.

 

"So," Momos voice was quieter than usual as he walked by Ai, "why didn't you correct that lady?"

 

Ah, so he had been listening.

 

"I didn't have the heart. She was old, let her have her beliefs and happiness." Ai smiled and continued in the direction of the store, going through the mental list of things again.

 

"Ah. I see," Momo surprisingly only laughed and laced his fingers behind his head. That's when Ai noticed something. Something very important.

 

...

 

...he realized that he was

 

...

 

...

  
"Hey, why am I the one pushing the stroller?"


	2. Shopping, cleaning, and matching costumes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finish shopping and cleaning (Im bad at summaries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! I hope you guys like this story and I'm sorry for not updating sooner!

Ai definitely didn't plan for things to become so... Complicated. Well that just wasn't the word, but it's not like Ai exactly had time to think while he was running down the packed streets. Normally, he would have taken his time to admire how the city lights flickered on one by one as the sun began to set. But this was no normal outing.

When Momo shouted "Just take it and run!" He knew he shouldn't have gone along with it. He knew. Yet here Ai was, weaving in and out of people along with his insane friend. He was surprised that the redhead was able to run as fast as he could while pushing a stroller and carrying a few bags.

Now, Momo was no thief and neither was Ai, but this was different, right? It was only a can of mushy carrots. Who would want that anyways?

Ai kind of doubted that anyone was even following them anymore, but that didn't stop him from frantically running away from the baby's r us as fast as he could. It dawned on him when they were about two blocks away that he just stole something. Sure it was barely anything valuable, but they still stole something. They were setting such a bad example for Shouta. And it was only day one.

"I think we're good." Momo panted a little, "I can't believe they wanted me to pay five dollars for a can of mush."

"Yes, but was it," Ai was trying to catch his breath. He was skinny but that didn't mean he was in shape. "Was it really necessary to just steal it? You could have just put it back."

"But where's the justice in that!" Momo started to push the stroller at a normal pace again. Ai knows better than to argue with Momo on this. His brain would never comprehend why stealing it wasn't any better. Or the fact that Shouta wouldn't be able to eat the carrots for at least another three months.

Ai just continued to check things off the list, sighing. His hands reached into all of the bags that were hanging off the stroller as he counted then recounted all the items. They successfully bought everything but clothes.

"Momo all we have left are the clothes. Do you want to just call it a day?" Momo tilted his head at the question.

"If you want to. Are you tired?" The silver haired man shook his head and smiled. Ai wasn't tired, sure he probably wouldn't be up for running again but that was different. Plus, dressing little Shouta up sounded like fun.

"Ah, I saw this cute shop when I was getting coffee before! We can go there." The shorter male pointed in the direction of the tiny shop. He recalled a cute fall outfit that would suit the baby just fine.  

"Sounds great! Let's go!" Momo stared to run and motioned for his friend to do the same. Ai was not running anymore. Period.

\----

"Can I help you two look for anything?" A sales assistant asked hesitantly. Ai couldn't blame her for looking a bit scared. Momo had pulled almost everything off of the racks. Since it was late October, most of the close that were building up on the floor were heavy coats in various bright colors, a few that managed to catch the overly energetic man’s eye were tossed onto the stroller.

“No thank you.” Ai tried to smile at the assistant, he really did. But it was hard not to laugh at the expression of pure horror that she wore. She backed away slowly, like if she turned her back on them Momo would attack her. The shorter male began to pick up some of the garments that his friend threw aside and put them back on hangers. Once that task was done, Ai began to look through some of the clothes himself. He picked out an onesie and checked the size. Perfect.

“Do you like this one Shouta?” Ai cooed, lifting up the outfit. The collar and sleeves were brown and it had a small picture of an otter holding a heart on the front.  Under it was ‘Otterly adorable’ printed in the same soft, brown color that the sleeves were. The baby's only response was a toothless small grin. "I'm happy you like it."

"Oh that's cute! Look at this? Do you think he's too young to go trick or treating?" Momo held up a costume. Ai almost screamed.

"No. If you weren't too old to go last year I don't see why Shouta would be too young to go. He can’t eat any candy though... But a bug!? Why not something a little cuter?" Ai's nose crinkled at he felt the surprisingly soft  fabric of the beetle costume. That's right, Halloween was in two days. Ai cursed himself in his mind and made a mental note to go buy candy. Some for the trick or treaters and some for his class.

"A stag beetle is plenty cute! If he wears this he'll definitely get extra candy." Momo beamed. Ai looked less than enthusiastic. Normally, the silver haired man wouldn't care what Momo did as long as it didn't hurt anyone. But this was surely going to hurt poor Shouta. Ai could imagine the little baby all grown up, bringing his first boy/girlfriend home and suddenly. What's this? A picture of Shouta's first Halloween? A bug? Ew gross! Bam, now Shouta's single.

Though... now thinking about it... Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Ai didn't want to think of Shouta leaving the nest yet. Momo's nest that is, cause then Momo would be lonely.

"How about... This!" Ai turned to the Halloween outfits and picked out the perfect one. An otter jumpsuit costume that was very fluffy. It would keep him warm. That poor kid sure has a lot of otter stuff, but Ai figured that he'd rather Shouta dress in otter patterned clothing then stag beetle patterned.

"It's perfect! But I still kind of like the stag beetle! C'mon, he'll look just like  pyunsuke." The older Mikoshiba began to pout and hold the garment up to his son. Ai had to do something, and fast.

"But...uh... You can dress up with Shouta too! There aren't any adult sized bug costumes that aren't scary. But I bet there's an otter one!" Momo's pout turns into a bright grin and he started checking out faster than Ai could blink.

Sighing, Ai turned to Shouta, "You owe me one."

\---

It took them three rounds to carry everything up to Momo’s apartment. Ai swore that he was going to collapse when he finally made it up the six flights for the last time.

The grocery bags sat carelessly on the floor and kitchen island, about fifteen in total. The two men looked at each other, neither wanting to really unpack everything.

“I guess I’ll start unpacking the food,” Momo opened some of the bags that were on the counter, “Is it ok to just leave Shouta in the stroller like that?”

The youngest Mikoshiba (That they know of anyways. Who the hell knows what Gou and Seijuro were up too, Ai prefered not to think about those things.) sat in his stroller/car seat, not even fussing. Ai shrugged, if he wasn’t fussing then it wasn’t a problem right?

“I think he should be fine,” Ai smiled at his friend. Momo was taken aback. He was slightly stunned for a moment, the smile had surprised him and sent a warmth through his body. It wasn’t until Ai’s smile turned into a confused, almost concerned, stare that he smiled brightly back.

“Ok! Should I put the powder stuff in the fridge?” Momo raised a container of formula in one hand. Ai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Seriously, did Momo know anything about child care?

“No, Thats formula. You mix it with hot water when Shouta’s hungry. It can just be stored in the cabinet.” Their hands brushed slightly as Ai swiped the container from Momo and placed it in an empty cabinet.

“Oh. Then what do I do with the rest of this stuff?” The redhead held up a few cans of various pureed  fruits and vegetables. Ai looked at them for a moment, turning the cans over to look at the expiration dates. Some of the cans had up to a year on them, while some only had about a month.

“Shouta can’t eat solids for another three months. Here, these should last,” Ai shoved a few cans into Momo’s arms (pureed peas, corn, chicken, apples, and prunes) and placed the ones that were bad on the counter next to the bag, “These will go bad by the time he’s able to eat it. Why did you get solids anyways?”

Momo looked at the few cans that were supposed to go bad. He almost scowled when he realized that the mushy can of carrots was one of them. “I guess I just got a little excited.”

“Oh Momo, what are we going to do with these?” Ai laughed a little. It was just like Momo to get overly excited and not really pay attention.

“I know!” Ai watched curiously as his friend popped open one of the cans. The carrots. His curious stare turned into one of shock laced with light amusement when the other man pulled a spoon out of a draw. “We can eat them!”

Momo took a generous scoop of the orange goop and shoved it in his mouth. His nose scrunched up. It wasn’t exactly what he was expecting. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t taste like the chocolate double fudge brownies that Ai used to sometimes make back in highschool.

“Not good?” Ai felt the corners of his mouth tug up as he watched Momo force another spoonful into his mouth.

“ydhi tsy it!”

“What?” the silver haired man tilted his head to the side and watched as Momo loaded the spoon again.

“I said, You try it!” And with that he slid the spoon between Ai’s lips with a small force.

Ai would have blushed under different circumstances but he was too busy trying not to gag. Lukewarm mush being shoved down your throat wasn’t the most pleasant feeling. He swallowed it.

“Ew. Momo how could you eat that!”

“It’s not too bad. Maybe the banana’s taste better.” Momo debated on opening another can as he placed the glass container in the sink to be washed.

“Ok Momo, do what you want to. I’m going to go fold and pack away the clothes. Can you finish vacuuming and wiping everything down?” Momo nodded and mock saluted his friend who was walking towards the nursery(spare bedroom) with the clothes bags.

The redhead sighed and started to search for the lysol and gloves. He began to think, while he scrubbed and vacuumed. How exactly was he going to take care of a baby? It wasn’t like he could just go and return the little guy, not that Momo had any intention of ever doing that. He realized that he was happy to have a friend like Ai. One that was willing to put up with his crazy antics and help him through things. It was also useful that Ai was an expert in child care, honestly, Momo didn’t know what he would've done without the shorter man. Not just for the whole baby thing, but for life. Ai was essential to his very being, probably from the moment they met. Where would Momo even be if Ai hadn’t been his roommate? For one, his house would be a freakin mess, his hair would've been dyed an ugly purple, he might have even been dead in a ditch. Ai has probably saved his life more than a few times with his quick judgement. He was probably one of the most important people in Momo’s life.

There was Shouta too. Another person that was extremely important in his life. Even though he had gone into parenthood head on with confidence, Momo was still  worried from time to time. Was he going to be a good father like Ai said? Was Shouta going to love him? Or was he going to want to run away? Momo had been pushing those thoughts down since he picked Shouta up. Shouta. Where was the baby? Momo hadn’t heard him crying once, and it had already been at least two hours. The house was spotless, or at least sterile enough for a baby, so Momo stripped the gloves off and walked over to the stroller.

Momo felt panic surge throughout his body when his eyes landed on the empty seat. Not thinking rationally, as usual, Momo began to call out his name and look under the stroller. He paced back and forth, how could he lose his son on the first day?!

He took a breath, and wandered into the nursery to alert Ai that the baby was missing. He stopped in the door frame. Letting a sigh of utter relief out, Momo laughed to himself. Shouta was with his friend. Logically, Momo should have guessed that Ai took Shouta into the room with him at one point. Especially when the vacuum went on.

Ai had done a terrible job of half folding the clothes. The nursery was kind of a mess. It had a crib against the one wall and a bed(since it had previously been a guest bedroom) against the opposite one. The sloppily folded clothes were scattered in piles on the floor and a few on the bed were gathered around where Ai sat.

Momo looked over at the empty bottle on the night stand. It looks like Shouta ate. Momo knelt down beside the bed and sat there for a moment, admiring the way the a stray moonbeam hit the two peacefully sleeping faces. Ai had his back up against the headboard and his knees pointed up towards the ceiling in a sitting up position. Shouta was chest to chest with Ai, his cheek pressed into Ai’s shoulder, drooling a bit. It was so cute. Momo didn’t want to wake them up, but he had too. Ai had to go to work tomorrow and Shouta couldn’t get used to sleeping like that.

To preserve the moment, Momo stood up and got his phone out. Making sure it wasn’t on flash, he snapped a picture.

“Ai, wake up.” Momo shook his friend lightly.

“Huh? Oh sorry, I fell asleep.” He yawed and subconsciously tightened his grip on the baby. Momo laughed at the way the blue eyes of his companion blinked in a sort of haze.

“It’s fine. I’ll finish up here,” Momo took Shouta into his arms and waltzed over to the crib before settling the baby in. Ai wandered over, still a bit tired, and kissed Shouta’s forehead while mumbling a soft goodnight.

“See you later Momo, Call if you need anything.”

\---

It had been two days and Ai was officially worried. He was a bit on edge and it wasn't just because it was Halloween and the holiday had always given him he creeps. No, Momo hadn't called nor talked to him in two days.

It wasn't unusual for them to go without talking for maybe three days at the most but it was different now. Or at least Ai thought it was. Because now Momo had Shouta, and he was sure that the orange haired man would be constantly texting him with cries for help. Yet, nothing. Ai had even gone over to his apartment building a few times only to find that the two Mikoshibas were out.

Ai knew it wasn't because they were fighting. The silver haired man helped Momo baby proof and clean his apartment for three straight hours after returning from the shopping extravaganza. Nothing bad had happened in that time, not that Ai could remember anyways. He had even put Shouta down for his friend. Ai had downloaded tumblr again and checked the blog only to find a rather embarrassing photo of him and Shouta sleeping together with the caption “We shopped till we dropped <3 Thank you papa for cleaning while we slept >u< ”. So what was the problem?

Ai, for the life of him, couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was because Momo had to clean all by himself?

Instead of dwelling on the matter, Ai attempted to distract himself by hanging the Pumpkin streamers and paper ghosts around his classroom.

"Nitori-sensei! Happy Halloween!" There was a small pull at his pants. Blue eyes looked down and connected with bright brown ones.

"Hinata! Happy Halloween. Oh what a cute costume, did your mama help you make it?" It was a simple jersey with the number 10 on it. The shirt was definitely a few sizes too big, it was almost like a dress on the kindergartener. Ai wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to be but the small boy looked adorable.

"Yup! I'm the little giant! What are you sensei?" Ai had to admit that his costume was lame. He was only wearing a pair of cat ears hoping that he could pass off as a cat. It wasn't like he didn't care about dressing up, but it was hard to find something that wasn't scandalous (really _really_ tacky lingerie that was supposed to resemble an animal or some sort of authority figure) or too frightening (a zombie costumes that were probably buried in the ground since last Halloween to look more realistic) on such short notice. If only he realized it was Halloween a few weeks earlier, then maybe he could've rented that duck costume.

"I'm a cat see? Your mama must be very talented! You look very professional. Did you pick out your candy yet?" Ai was good with kids. He loved them, the pudgy cheeks, the small hands, everything. He had to suppress a fangirlish squeal when the kindergarteners eyes lit up in the cutest way when he heard the word candy.

"No! Not yet! Thank you sensei!" This was probably the only thing Ai liked about the holiday. He loved seeing the look of joy that candy brought to kids faces.

"It's no problem Hinata."

\---

Ai shut his front door again after waving off a group of trick or treaters. It was only 12 in the afternoon, school had let out early so people could celebrate the holiday. His candy bowl was almost empty. Ai had planned to stay in his apartment and do a little cleaning, make some tea, maybe read a book. That was his original plan anyways. He grabbed the candy bowl again and opened the door that someone had been knocking on.

“Trick or treat!” Momo was standing in the doorway wearing a full on otter costume. It was a brown jumpsuit with a white belly and a hood that covered most of his fiery hair. Little shouta was in a little baby carrier that was strapped to Momo, wearing an identical costume.

Before Ai could question why Momo hadn’t contacted him or make a remark on how adorable Shouta was, Momo thrust a bag into his arms, “Put that on! Were all going trick or treating together. It took me forever to find it so hurry!”

Ai didn’t object. He put on the costume that was in the bag and came out of the bathroom with a slight blush on. There wasn’t anything wrong with the costume, it was just… why were they all matching? Momo nodded in approval while Shouta let out a small giggle.

“Why are we all matching?” Ai let out an embarrassed squeak.

“Because were all going out together! I was your idea to go as an otter family.” Momo said it in a ‘duh’ kind of voice. Was Ai the one to make that suggestion? “Leave the candy outside your door and c’mon were starting with the first floor and we have like, 16 flights to hit!”

**  
**And with that, Ai let the two Mikoshibas drag him down the hallway of his apartment building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? bad? Awful? I hope you liked it! Ill try to update at least once a week or every other. Thank you for reading!


	3. Halloween Crashers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouta's getting cold and now they have to stop somewhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY I HAVENT UPDATED THIS IN A WHILE. SCHOOL IS KICKING MY ASS RIGHT NOW BUT I REALLY WANTED TO UPDATE THIS ONE! I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT AND SORRY FOR THE CAPS.

It was getting colder as the sun began to set, the october wind was ruthless and kept hitting the poor boys. They had been at trick or treating for nearly three hours now and without the sunlight, the temperature dropped noticeably. Ai was surprised that they had finished his apartment building in less than fifteen minutes, he was sure that they would take at least an hour to get through so many flights. But Momo was...special.  Shouta's sleepy figure curled more into Momo. Maybe they should've  just stayed at Ai's apartment complex then Shouta could sleep instead of risking a cold.

 

"Ah, Momo? We should head back home. Shouta will surely catch a cold if we stay out any longer." Momo felt a hand grab his arm as he walked down the dirt path. He turned his head to look over his shoulder.

 

"You're right. We need to get somewhere warmer," Momo turned to face his friend now. He could see Ai's pale cheeks dusted with a red hue. Ai was freezing too. Even with the extra warm, fuzzy costume fabric the cold managed to get through.

 

The small desperate look in the silver haired boy’s eyes made a shiver run through Momo. He wanted to reach out and wrap his arms around his friend. He had the sudden urge to just warm him up with his own body heat.

 

Weird, right?

 

The walk back home would take them almost an hour, considering how far from the city they were now. There were also no trains out in these parts... A bus could take hours...

 

"Where are we?" Momo looked around and saw a familiar looking park bench. He squinted his eyes to try and look at it clearer.

 

"I think we're in the next town over, why Momo?" Ai looked around, was this supposed to be familiar?  Was something wrong with this town? Oh no! We're they going to get mugged by pink fluffy unicorn people who only stole babies and Halloween candy?! That couldn't happen, he had to go to work on Monday. Forget him, Shouta still has his whole life in front of him! The poor baby!

 

Ai was blowing a fuse, his imagination running wild. He failed to notice that Momo had pulled out his phone and started dialing a number.

 

Hot breath escaped the orange haired boy’s mouth as he gushed into the phone. The street lights were starting to flicker on one by one and the stars were shining brighter than normal.  Probably from the lack of  light pollution. As Momo's movements became more joyful, Shouta began to stir from the sporadic small jumps. He looked curiously at his beaming papa.

 

"Thanks!" Momo laughed and tucked his phone back into the pocket of Ai's purse. Sorry, not a purse. A fanny pack (as if that's any more masculine(A/N: I love fanny packs guys shouldn't be embarrassed to have one)). "Here follow me!"

 

As Momo's hand grabbed his, Ai noticed how much warmer his friends hands were when interlaced with hiis. It was comfortable and the feeling of having his hand cradled in warmth was, for lack of a better word, nice. The houses and scenery blurred together in a mix of colors. Ai’s head was spinning as he tried to focus on the head of orange hair bobbing in front of him. The shorter male felt his face warming up, which was strange because they were running now and the wind was hitting him even harder. Ai's fingers brushed up against his cheeks. They were... Hot.

 

Before long, Ai found himself in front of another door this one was painted red and the name on the mailbox was too warn out to tell. They had stopped in a two story apartment complex. Ai was puzzled, they were surely very far from a station or bus stop now. Plus, it wasn't really the time to be hunting for more candy to put in the already stuffed backpack that Momo was carrying. The unicorns were after them, they had to get back to one of their apartments.

 

"Momo why are we-"

 

"Happy Hallowe- Momo-kun?" Ai turned his attention to the girl standing in front of him.

 

"Gou-San! So you and niichan have moved in together already?" Momo's face lit up. Gou? Oh so that phone call must have been to Seijuro, that makes more sense.

 

"Ah, Ai-kun is here too. Why don't you two come in? I'll tell Seijuro that you've arrived." Ai felt his body being dragged through the door frame and he barely reached out in time to hit the door shut.

 

It was warm inside the apartment. The space wasn’t as big as Momo’s, the kitchen was much larger though. From the looks of it, Gou had been living there for far longer than Momo’s slightly shocked expression had led on. There were girly touches everywhere. A vase full of flowers on the island and on the dining table. Pictures of the couple were spread out all over the walls, there was a nice rug spread out a bunch of diy home decorative projects (that Ai totally did not watch the tutorial videos for.) everywhere. Ai made his way to the living room and pulled off the otter costume hood as Momo plopped himself on the couch and went to work undoing his baby carrier. Ai traced his fingers on the black wood of the coffee table and something caught his eye.

 

“Is this,” He pawed at the magazine, “A wedding catalog?” His voice was quiet, he almost hoped that Momo hadn’t heard him.

 

“Hm?” His friend had unstrapped Shouta and was holding the baby now as he tried to look over Ai’s shoulder at the glossy cover. They both sat like that for a moment, just staring. Ai jumped and the magazine made a splat sound when someone cleared their throat.

 

“It might be out of season by then but you two can borrow it after I’m done.” Gou squeezed her partner’s hand a little. Seijuro let out a deep laugh at the confused faces of his house guests.

 

“Usually marriage comes before a baby but I suppose that my brother has never done anything by the book.” Seijuro walked and sat down on the couch with Gou. Ai’s eyebrows furrowed in thought before shooting up in surprise.

 

“Ah, wait hold on. There is a misunder-”

 

“You’re getting married?!” Momo jumped up to his feet after sloppily passing Shouta to Ai. His grin was wide and stretched to the edges of his face. His golden eyes shined as he almost knocked down a picture frame while flailing around his arms.

 

There was no real shock, the two were destined to get married eventually. Ai was more surprised that Momo didn’t expect it, the two had been dating for… four years? Marriage was the next step.

 

“So, tell up the story of your engagement.” Ai smiled and sat up on the couch, cradling Shouta. From what he’s read online, couples love to tell the engagement story and the least they could do after barging in on their alone time was listen.

 

“Ah,” Gou smiled and her eyes started sparkling, “It was beautiful, Seijuro took me out to restaurant. It was nice and I thought that he would propose there, and I was a little disappointed when he didn’t. But then he took me out to a boat on the lake, and the moon was full. There were countless stars and I’d never seen anything so pretty. But then, there were the seasonal floating lanterns gliding across the lake, I had completely forgotten about him not proposing in the restaurant. I turned to touch one and when I turned back, gahhhhh. He was on one knee and it was just perfect. He tipped over the boat after I said yes and put on the ring, but it was perfect.”

 

"It sounds wonderful Gou-kun."  Ai smiled and rugged Shouta closer to his chest.

 

“Ah! Let’s take a picture,” Momo tugged on his costume hood and set his phone on the mantle opposite the couch, “Everyone squeeze in!”

 

Momo set the timer for ten seconds. He nearly bumped into the coffee table in his overly frantic run back to the couch, but he managed to lean up against the arm of the couch next to Ai.

 

“Say cheese!” The camera flashed. Well at least Ai thought it flashed. Everyone visibly relaxed for a few seconds after. They all made some small talk about the newly engaged couple and somewhere along the way Seijuro walked out of the room. They shifted to sit on the rug around the table, Gou on one side of the silver haired man and the young Mikoshiba brother on the other, Shouta sitting in Ai’s crossed legs.

 

Momo poured out all of the candy they got on to the small coffee table much to Ai’s distress and Gou’s amusement. He sorted it first by type, then alphabetically, then by color. Shouta had replaced his pacifier (which he threw on the ground in a pile of drool) with one of the colorful wrappers, gumming it.

 

“Oh Shouta, don’t put that in your mouth, it’s dirty,” Ai giggled a little and pulled the candy out of the baby’s mouth, “Ah, Momo can you go wash the pacifier? It fell on ground.”

 

Momo stood up and Ai handed him the dust covered binky. Gou smiled and let her nephew to be wrap tiny hands around her ring finger. She smiled at how adorable a little creature can be, she was expecting him to have numerous cuts or bumps by now (no offense Momo) but his skin was soft and smelled like sweet soap. Gou had to hand it to the two boys, she never thought that they’d last a day, but they seemed to have everything figured out. Shouta was still in one piece and smiling.

She heard the water turn on from the kitchen and Ai remind Momo to wash it with hot water and only a little bit of soap. Gou knows that the whole wedding magazine thing earlier had been a joke, but these two seemed like they were already married. Well, they had already lived together in the past, plus from what she knows, they’ve seen each other almost everyday since they first met (skyping every day at Uni was normal for awesomely fantastic best friends right?).

 

Plus now they have a baby. Well, Momo has a baby, but from what Gou has witnessed so far Ai wasn’t just babysitting, if anything he was probably the brains of the entire operation. He seemed like a happy parent right now, playing with Shouta’s feet and blowing raspberries on his cheek, even though he wasn’t a legal guardian he still held him with such care and adoration that even a close relative would call it almost motherly. Gou sighed in contentment as she watched Momo sit back down and Ai accept the pacifier with a grateful smile. They probably didn’t even realize how they looked to outsiders right now, not that they’d be ones to really mind though (cause let people think what they want to think, right?).

 

"Ah, why don't you guys take a bath? Here Momo, you go first." The oldest mikoshiba walked out of a bedroom with clothes in his hands, "go freshen up then Ai can go. You two are going to have to sleep over, hope you don't mind Ai."

 

"Of course not! Thank you very much." Ai waved his hand and nodded his head in gratitude. Well the older brother and his bride to be did have a guest room. A singular guest room. Which of course was not by any means a problem. Why would it be? But what about Shouta? He would have to sleep on the bed but what about those horror stories that Ai read about. Ones that included parents accidentally smothering and killing their children by rolling on them. It was dangerous.

 

"You ok Ai-Kun?" Gous eyebrows were furrowed and she had an odd smile on, almost like she could read his mind she said, “Once we heard that you guys were coming over we asked the  neighbors to borrow their bassinet. So don’t worry about Shouta.”

 

“Oh. Ok, thanks. You guys really didn’t have to go through that much trouble.” Shouta flashed his aunt a toothless smile that pierced her heart. Damn that kid was cute, he was just too innocent.

 

Gou just nodded and cooed at Shouta again. Ai laughed and offered the baby to her. She took Shouta into her arms and practically melted, showering him with kisses to which Shouta giggled. Ai wondered if she was fantasizing about babies now. She had that gleam in her eyes like when she used to(?) ogle at muscles. Or maybe it was just Shouta. He was a special kid.

 

The tiniest mikoshiba started to squirm after a while, reaching his little hands out for Ai. "Aw you don't want to pway with me?"

 

Gou used her index finger to poke laughter out from the baby.

 

"He's cute ain't he?" Seijuro swiped him and started juggling Shouta on his knee, "so Ai, how is my brother doin?"

 

"He's doing great! He hasn't called me in a panic for two days so I guess he's gotten the hang of everything."

 

"Eh! I would expect him to do something stupid and oddly impossible like burn the formula or forget to buy diapers and have to use a shirt." Seijuro let Gou take back his nephew and leaned back, placing his hands behind his head. Ai sheepishly laughed and just nodded his head. He felt a weight being slung around his shoulders and he peaked up to look at his friends smiling face.

 

"Ai helped me with most of preparation. He's a real lifesaver! Here your turn." Momo threw the towel around his neck onto the top of his friends head.

 

"I'll help get you some clothes." Gou felt the couch move as her fiancé got up and left. She smiled at the way Momo's eyes were protectively watching her count his son’s toes and kiss the top of his head.

 

"Are you guys hungry? We still have some left overs from dinner."

 

"It's fine, we stopped to get something before." Momo had wandered into the kitchen and plucked a glass from one of the cabinets. He watched as the glass filled with water then took a large sip, "but Shouta is probably hungry and pretty tired. I'll put him to sleep right after Ai gives him a bath."

 

Gou sighed as she handed the little lump back over to Momo, "Wait, why don't you just give him a bath?"

 

"B-because I'm still not good at it. I get soap in his eyes all the time." Momo assumed that Ai had to be better than him. He's never really given Shouta a bath, but he gave Momo a very detailed explanation on how to use the washcloth properly.

 

Gou mentally laughed a little. Momo still had so much to learn, Ai would not be getting a break anytime soon. Of course she and Seijuro would help out, it'd be good parent practice. Her brother would probably pitch in if it was necessary, he's a sap for babies. Then if her brother helped of course Sousuke would too. It would be a Samezuka reunion! Who knows, maybe the iwatobi boys will end up helping too. It will take a whole team of people to raise that little baby.

 

"So how is Shouta adjusting? Ai said that you haven't contacted him for two days. He was probably worried." Gou added a little giggle at the end of her sentence. Momo paused for a moment, lowering his son back down into his lap.

 

"He's doing awesome! He only gets up about once in the middle of the night! I wanted to show Ai that he was right, and I think I did good!" Momo practically beamed.

 

"What did Ai say?" This is the first Gou had heard of this. Granted, she wouldn't normally even hear about how this stuff, but she liked being in the loop.

 

"He said I'd be a good dad! And I think Shouta loves us almost as much as we love him." Gou didn't know whether or not she should mention the fact that he just used the plural.

 

"Momo, I'm done." Ai walked back into the room and held out his hands to take Shouta. The shirt hung off his shoulder and went down to his knees and the bottom of his shorts peaked out if the hem.

 

“Ai! Do you want to borrow some of my clothes?” Ai shook his head at Gou’s offer.

 

“I’ll be fine. For now, it’s this one’s bath time.” Ai rubbed his nose in the baby’s pudgy belly as he walked over to the sink. Momo trailed after him with the backpack in his hand.

 

\------

 

Ai woke up with a start. Where was he again? He turn a little and was met with the edge of the bed. He struggled to turn the other way, he was wrapped up in blankets, but when he did he was faced what appeared to be Momo's calf. Ai sat up, disheveled and sleepy. The he heard it again, a soft wail.

 

He debated whether or not he should wake Momo, but then what's the point if both of them are up? He untangled himself from the sheets and fling them onto Momo, who was drooling of the end of the bed. He padded over to the bassinet and peered inside.

 

Shouta looked at him no stopped for a brief moment and Ai smiled. He wrapped his arms around the now softly crying bundle and prayed the floor boards wouldn't creak and the door wouldn't slam. It was quiet in the kitchen and when Ai sat down on the couch the silence was calming. Shouta was warm too and Ai felt himself drifting off after the baby finished his bottle.

 

\----

 

Momo landed on his head and started freaking out when he couldn't untangle himself from the sheets. He straightened up, dazed and confused. He needed some water.

 

The kitchen light was bright and something caught his attention. Quickly he shut off the light and walked over to the sofa. And for the second time he found his two favorite people sleeping peacefully.

 

When did Ai and Shouta wake up? He carefully sat down next to the pair and started. Shouta looked so at peace. And Ai...

 

Was it wrong to call his best friend beautiful?

 

But that couldn't even describe him. He wasn't just pretty, he was the person that could bring Momo peace. He was tolerant, sweet, and his baby sure loved him. Whenever he so much as high fived him, he felt a weird tingle. This went all the way back to high school. He always knew his friend was special to him, but just how special? He never dwelled on it for long, afraid of the consequences because if he was honest. Everytime he described how he felt he found that the feelings strongly resembled endearment.

 

And that wasn't something he wanted to deal with.

 

\----

 

It was morning when Gou shook Seijuro awake.

 

"Sweetie! Come look they're so cute." The floor was cold and Seijuro just wanted to jump back into bed.

 

They tiptoed into the living room, and Gou pinched Seijuro for chuckling too loudly.

  
They weren't in one of those cute poses where they lean on each other and are sleeping. No, Ai was holding Shouta, his feet up on the couch and his cheeks buried in the baby's soft hair. Momo, well Momo's head was in the other direction but Shouta was gripping onto his fingers. It wasn't picture perfect. Not by any means, Momo was drooling and Ai looked like he he was dead. But it was them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok! Here's the link for the picture! Check out Shouta's tumblr!
> 
> (http://shouta-mikoshiba.tumblr.com/post/130421805760/shoutas-first-halloween-chapter-link)


	4. 5 days of axiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 days that Shouta has to go to school with Ai. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. This is more of a Momo and Ai chapter than about Shouta. AND IM SORRRYYY FOR THAT BUT. OK. WELL. The Next chapter will have 2 picture posts to make up for this not having any. Sorry :( but I wanted to get this out ASAP. Also this was typed really late at night so. Excuse the typos and everything. and that is kinda short and rushed at the end. Sorry.

As soon as the three boys arrived back at Momo's apartment they slumped against the couch. Well, ok not all three of them because Momo properly placed Shouta in his crib. But he and Ai practically collapsed. After they endured a long morning of sly smiles and odd questions that probably had a deeper meaning behind them from Gou and Seijuro

_"So. Shouta probably loves one of you more at this point right? Kinda like **two** parents!" Gou giggled as she slid another piece of egg between her lips._

__

_"You probably need lots of help huh little bro? Good thing with Ai around you don't need a girlfriend." Momo nearly choked on the bite of pancake he was chewing when his brothers comment was followed by a big slap on the back._

__

They had to ride the bus back home. Luckily it was only about three stops over. Unluckily, it was the day after Halloween aka the day for the walk of shame. The bus was crowded with half hungover people and the other half Momo swore they were still drunk. They were extremely rude and the two were glad to have found seats before the big rush of people came.

 

Momo let Ai take the window seat with Shouta. He regretted making that choice ten minutes into the ride though. There was a person standing next to him. A girl dressed in one of those short dresses that barely covered anything. When he turned his head he got a face full of frills and tool.

"Hey!" The girls glare sent shivers up his spine. She reeked of alcohol and the dress had rather odd stains on it, various blue and pink spots. To top it all off she was slurring her words like she was still drunk (she probably was). "No peeking you perv!"

Momo was taken aback and Ai just giggled. The girl proceeded to sloppily hit Momo and accuse him of looking up her skirt.

"Yea daddy. No peeking!" Ai let out more giggles as he watched as Momo turned his annoyed expression towards him.

But Momo got his chance to laugh at a flustered Ai when the girl gasped and said, “In front of your wife and child. You should be ashamed!” The girl stomped off the bus before Ai could protest a thing.

Damn drunks.

Anyways, Momo and Ai were about to start watching a movie. Momo had made popcorn while Ai picked out some TV show that both of them could watch. Though maybe five minutes into an episode of Law and order (the new series that they decided to watch together) Shouta woke up. Crime scenes turned into Ponyo. Truthfully both Momo and Ai liked watching the five year olds adventure more than the murder mystery and Shouta seemed to like all the colors too.

Ai was sitting cross legged on the couch with the baby in his lap. He was shouting “Go Sousuke!” And the small Mikoshiba was giggling at the bouncing movements Ai was making.

Ponyo was probably one of Ai’s favorite movies to watch. The older he got the more he seemed to treasure it. It was something he used to do with his mom. They'd sit and drink hot coco whenever he had a cold. It always made him feel better. “Do you ever think Sousuke-Senpai has watched this?” Momo wondered out loud.

“I'm not sure. Hey have you found out what you're going to do with Shouta when you have to go back to work?” Ai asked absent mindedly. Momo had to go back to work the next day, he'd already taken off a week.

Momo jumped up and clutched his head, “Ah! I totally forgot about that!”

Ai whipped his head towards him, “what! Momo!”

“I can't believe I forgot. What am I going to do! I'm so sorry Shouta please forgive me!” Momo scooped up his child and hugged him, “I have to go back to work tomorrow! They could fire me if I don't.”

Ai pondered for a moment. Momo was pacing back and forth and trying to keep a smile on for Shouta. How could he forget what he was going to do with his child? Granted they've been very busy but this should have been a top priority. How could he? What kind of dad was he?

With all his bouncing around, Momo put Shouta to sleep. After laying him down in his bassinet, the older Mikoshiba was free to freak out without scaring his baby. He plopped down on the couch for the second time that day.

“What… Should I do?” Momo put his head in his lap.

“Ah wait! Momo I think I have an idea,” Ai popped up, “Why don't you just keep him at the daycare center at my school?”

Momo jumped and grabbed onto Ai’s shoulders, “Ai that's such a good idea I could kiss you right now!”

They stood there for a moment. Momo's hand scratched the back of her head and laughed awkwardly, “But I won't. Cause that would be weird… Right?”

Ai’s trance was broken, “Yup… Totally… Weird… Uh but the entrance forms would take about a week to process. B-but I could watch him I guess for the week but he'd have to go to class with me.”

“Would you really do that? That's amazing!” Momo kissed his cheek out of excitement before running towards the nursery, “Shouta! Guess who's going to watch you for the week!”

Ai touched his face, “Totally weird…”

\-----

**Day 1**

“Ok. So I have his diaper bag, your number, and his stroller. Am I missing anything? What if I mess this up?” Ai was uncharacteristically freaking out in his class room. Momo laughed and bent down to kiss Shouta.

“Ai! You're the smartest person I know! You'll do fine. And as a thank you, I am going to take you to dinner at the end of the week!”

“Momo-”

“No buts!” Momo picked up his backpack and started backwards walking to the door, waving to Shouta.

“Ah! Sorry!” Momo's back hit something. Or someone. He bumped into Ai’s assistant. That's what who bumped into.

“Ah I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'm Momotarou, I have to go but um… Yea.” Momo blushed slightly and turned back to Ai and Shouta. He pointed to them and said, “Alright! I love you, and see you later!”

He ran out the door and the brunette walked over to Ai.

“He's cute, boyfriend? Husband…?” The girl tilted her head.

“Ah! No. Just a friend and I'm watching his baby for the week.” The gray haired male felt his cheeks heat up a bit. What was with everyone lately?

“Oh… so he's a father. Interesting.” Ai didn't like the look in her eyes.

\-----

“Sensei!” Ai was waiting for all the children to be picked up. He had taken Shouta out of his stroller and cradled him.

“Ah yes Hinata?” Ai smiled at the small boy.

“Can I read your baby a book?” Hinata held up a picture book with a puppy on the front.

“Sure Hinata,” Ai couldn't correct an eager child, “I'm sure Shouta would love that.”

Hinata smiled brightly and sat down in the chair next to his teacher. He cracked open the book, it was one of his favorites. Hinata wondered what the fuss was about this morning when the girls in his class crowded his teacher. It took him ten minutes to figure out what was going on because the girls kept pushing him away. But when he found out, he was puzzled.

But it wasn't something his little mind dwelled on much. In fact, his time had recently been taken up by a dummy exchange student named kageyama. But that was neither here nor there.

“Ok Shouta-chan! This is my favorite story.” Hinata smiled right above the sleeping baby's face, “T-the dog wo-wock up… What does that say Sensei?”

“The dog woke up.” Ai internally laughed.

“Oh that's not good. Ok! Um…” The child flipped the page and stared harder at the letters, “the dog was h-aaaa-p-py?”

Ai nodded.

“The dog W-weeee-nt to b-be-d. The end!” Hinata cheered jumped off the chair, “did he like it?”

“Yes he loved it!” Ai laughed and watched as the kindergartener practically beamed like the sun. It was something that made Ai remember why he loved his job.

“I loved it too!” Both males looked at the door way.

“Who are you?” Hinata his behind his teachers chair instinctively. Ai patted his head and laughed.

“I'm Shouta's daddy!” Momo walked over and bent down to eye height with the small child.

“oh! So Shouta has two dads just like Hinata!” Hinata smiled at the stranger.

“uh.” Momo wasn't sure how to respond to that.

“Hey! You're that guy from earlier! Hinata your dad is here.” Ai’s assistant shot Momo an, in Ai's mind, flirtatious look as she waved the little boy over.

Oh this was going to be a long week.

\-----

**Day 2**

“Hey both of you cut it out! No more fighting!” Ai had to pull his two kindergartens apart.

“But kageyama started it!” Hinata crossed his arms and pouted.

“No way! I so did not!” The black haired boy yelled back. Ai was waiting for the children to be picked up again. Shouta was luckily sleeping in the stroller peacefully.

“Hey! No fighting. Do you want to wake up the baby?” Ai knew that the class started to treat the tiny Mikoshiba like a prized possession.

“No. Sorry Shouta.” Hinata grabbed the baby's hand. While kageyama looked upset at himself.

Soon it was just Ai and Shouta waiting in the classroom for Momo. Well Hana was there too, Ai's very odd assistant.

“I'm here! I'm sorry I'm late! But Ai guess what! I got us reservations for Friday at that French restaurant that you wanted to go to!” Momo's hair was disheveled and he was out of breath. But he had a smile on none the less.

“Ah that's great but what about the baby?”

“My brother and Gou-San said they would watch him!”

Ai smiled and he felt oddly excited, “that sounds wonderful then!”

\-----

**Day 3**

“Bye you two! No fighting tomorrow!” Ai called out as Hinata and kageyamaleft. He was left with Hana again.

“So… I thought you said that Momotarou-Kun was just a friend.” Hana raised an eyebrow at her boss.

“He is.”

“But the dinner…?”

“Friends. It's to say thank you.”

“Oh. I see. That's good.”

Her tone made Ai's heart start pulsing with anxiety.

\-----

**Day 4**

“Hey! Sorry I'm late again!” Momo ran into the room. Ai pushed Shouta closer to the door and smiled at Momo.

“It's fine. Let's go.” He wasn't sure what made him do it, but he grabbed Momo's hand and pushed the stroller out with the other.

“We're still on for tomorrow right?”

Ai nodded happily and he could feel Hana carefully watching as Momo nonchalantly changed their hand positions and intertwined their fingers.

\-----

**Day 5**

“Hey are you ready to go?” Ai asked after he finished telling Gou and Seijuro Shouta's nightly schedule. They had yelled at him to just go multiple times. Multiple.

“Yup! Let's go!” Momo laughed and linked arms with his friend. Ai felt over joyed. Today was going to be a day for him and Momo to catch up.

Just him and Momo.

Him and Momo…

“Hey! Sensei, Momotarou-kun.”

“Hana-chan!” Hana-chan? Since when were Momo and Hana so close?

“Momotarou? Can I ask you something?” Hana smiled. It irritated Ai. Which it shouldn't have. Because why should it?

“Sure! Shoot!”

  
“Would you like to go out with me some time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY. I LOVE YOU GUYS. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE BETTER I SWEAR.
> 
> (shouta's tumblr: Shouta-mikoshiba.tumblr.com)


	5. This is so not a date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its not a date, they swear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOORRRRRY I HAVENT UPDATED IN SO LONG! IM WORKING ON MORE CHAPTERS RIGHT AFTER THIS SO I CAN POST THEM. HAPPY NEW YEARRRR!
> 
> On a side note, I really like writing about Momo, Ai, Gou, and Seijuro because they don't get enough love. I just feel like there's so much room for their characters to develop and shout out to them!

Ai wasn't sure what made him so upset. Here he was at a nice restaurant with his best friend and All he could think about was the fact that Momo said “ _ he'd think about it”  _ to Hana's offer. 

 

Why did it perturb him so much? Ai thought for a moment. Well he couldn't be jealous… Hana wasn't his type. And Momo…

 

_ Well Momo actually is caring. If anything I'd be jealous of Hana. But that's impossible… _ Ai started at his friend and shook his head. It wasn't fair to Momo to think about that right then. He was out with Momo and he would be a good date. Company. Eating pal. Whatever.

 

The place Momo ended up taking them was a nice restaurant with one of those fancy interiors. It kind of looked like the inside of the krusty krab from that one episode of spongebob where they redid the inside to be fancy. The atmosphere was a bit too stuffy for Ai. Everyone around them was dressed ten times nicer plus they all drank expensive looking wine. Momo was visibly uncomfortable in his nice totally not a date outfit. He was too stiff and he was plainly trying to be as polite as possible. 

 

It just wasn't him, and that kind of upset Ai. He didn't want to make Momo feel like he had to endure anything for his sake. He'd much rather go somewhere that Momo speak loudly and be more animated rather than this stuck up place. 

 

Now that Ai really looked at his Friend, he could see a faint blush. He shifted kind of nervously. But what was there to be nervous about? It was just Ai. He bets that Momo would act all blushy and stuttery when he's out with Hana. Stupid cute blushy face. Momo should be more careful with who he let’s see him like that. If he's not careful someone will surely fall head over heels for him. 

 

“So what's got you all worked up?” Momo looked over the table at him. Ai froze. Well he couldn't exactly say he may or may not be jealous of Hana because of reasons unknown to him right now. That would sound crazy. Ai tried to think of it from a logical viewpoint. 

 

Well… Momo is his best friend and Hana is his assistant, so if they dated and somehow broke up it would be awkward and weird. That had to be the reason that Ai was feeling uneasy. He was sure if it. 

 

“Well… Momo I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to go out with Hana.” He scratched his cheek with his pointer finger. Momo raised his eyebrow. 

 

“Why not? She seems nice and sweet,”  _ but not as nice and sweet as you _ . Momo's eyes widened. What was with his thoughts lately?! Being Momo, he slammed his forehead against the table. Nope. Nope. Nope. 

 

Ai jumped back at the loud thud and shifted his view from his friend to the crowd of angry looking nicely dressed people. 

 

“Excuse me sirs. You are disrupting everyone's evening and we would like you to leave.” Momo banged his head on the table again.

 

This time just to piss the waiter off. 

 

\---

 

“Ah! I'm sorry we didn't get to eat at that place.” Momo hung his head as they walked out of the glass doors. The air outside was crisp and kind of cold considering the time of year, “but at least I grabbed this!” Momo held up the bottle of wine he swiped off a table as they left. 

 

They were walking down the road unsure of where to go next. The atmosphere was a lot more relieving and it felt a hell of a lot better. The path looked well beaten from the many people who have walked down it before, the sidewalk had many cracks and uneven spaces. The soft wind was nice. It made them forget. 

 

“No it's fine that place was kinda weird anyways. Plus I kinda miss Shouta now.” Ai hummed to himself. It was true, he did miss the little boy a whole lot even though it's only been… what? Three hours? He'd gotten used to the small noises and the baby's presence itself. He missed it. 

 

It wasn't like he didn't like spending time with just Momo. No it was fun and he enjoyed it a lot, but at some point in the night he started to miss the baby. Just miss him. 

 

Momo felt the same way, most parents do. Maybe there's an actual name for it… Baby sickness? Kinda like being home sick but missing your child? 

 

“Hey why don't we just go get something from that store over there?” Ai squinted his eyes and pointed at a mini mart down the street. 

 

“You sure?” Momo asked kind of deflated. He failed at thanking Ai properly. Who brings their da- friend to a mini mart. 

 

Ai laughed and nodded sheepishly, “positive. Unless you don't want to…”

 

“Ah! No. Of course, whatever you want!” Momo snatched Ai's hand and bolted towards the brightly lit shop. 

 

Ai started to stumble and trip over his feet. He laughed as he was pulled through the sliding doors, “ah Momo. Not so fast!”

 

“Pick whatever you want! My treat!” Momo dropped his hand. He bowed as he gestured to all of the food on the shelves. The silver haired man muffled a laugh with his palm and looked over all of the food. There wasn't much honestly, lots of chips and a few meals. The bread was sure to be a bit hard by then but it would have to do he supposed. Momo smiled and grabbed a roll also, as well as a bag of chips. 

 

When they approached the cash register a young looking boy helped them. Ai raised an eyebrow, “Is he high?”

 

“Hi is this all you are getting today?” The boy slurred slightly. He scanned the bread and chips sloppily. So this is the kind of service you get late at night at a off the road market.

 

“Yea I think so. Hold on I got this,” Momo looked at the boy and puffed his chest slightly, “Excuse me! Young sir are you high?”

 

“Uh… who are you dude?” The boy's eyes looked wide and confused. 

 

“I happen to be the top commander at the uh… otter deport police box!” Momo gave him a hard look and tried to refrain from laughing at the scared expression. 

 

“Look I don’t want any trouble. Please sir let me go?” The boy rummaged through his pocket for something, “Here! Take the rest of it. Please don’t hurt me!”

 

Momo looked taken aback by the bag of drugs in the boy’s hand. He debated on whether or not he should take it. As a responsible adult he has to, right? He can’t just let him keep it. His hand shook a little as he took the small bag of weed from the boy. Ai hissed at him, “What are you doing Momo!”

 

“Im being responsible adult and taking harmful drugs away from a minor.” Momo whispered back, not that they really needed to keep their voices down. He turned back to the boy, “No more drugs ok? Thank you for the food.”

 

Ai could help but giggle as the doors slid close behind them and the brisk air hit his cheeks, “Momo, you could get in serious trouble for impersonating a cop.”

 

Momo just turned to his friend with all seriousness, “I wasn’t impersonating a cop, I was doing my impression of Rin. Momo! Don’t eat all of the cookies! Momo, don’t stalk my sister on the internet! Momo! Delete those pictures of my chest!”

 

Ai doubled over and fought to catch his breath, sides hurting. He remembered when Rin used to relentlessly scold Momo like a disappointed mother wondering where he went wrong. Heck Rin still ended up yelling at Momo sometimes. It brought back fun memories…

 

“Hey we should probably walk back to your brothers to get Shouta.” Ai huffed. He looked around, they were only about five blocks away from the town, then another three from the complex, if he was calculating correctly that is.

 

Momo put the plastic of one of the wrappers between his teeth and pulled. He handed the open bread to Ai, “Yea you're right.” 

 

Momo opened the his bread and chips as well before handing them to Ai, who nearly dropped everything, to hold. He fiddled with the bottle of alcohol, trying to undo the twist off cap. He thanked the lord that it wasn’t a cork, but the twist off wasn’t budging. His hand hurt a little, tiny ridged imprints lining the inside of his hand, but he smiled and looked at Ai, proud of what he had done. He slipped the bottle between his lips as Ai questioned him, “Momo, what are you doing?”

 

The orange haired man laughed and took back his food and motioned for Ai to take the bottle from him, “Here you have some. It’s actually pretty good.”

 

Ai cautiously raised the bottle and let the pungent liquid pass through his lips. He shuttered for a moment. Ai didn’t drink much, and when he did he was always careful cause last time he went overboard he ended up on locked on the roof of the school in a panda bear costume and Momo laughing at him. Momo on the other hand, wasn’t as much of a light weight as Ai, but he was still had a pretty low tolerance for alcohol. It just made him happy and he went along with it, kind of like a placebo. 

 

“It’s been awhile since I’ve had a drink…” Ai handed the bottle back to Momo, who was crumpling a wrapper and stuffing it in his pocket. 

 

“Mm! Me too, though I kind of need this, Shouta is one hell of a handful.” Momo threw his head back in an overdramatic way that made Ai smile. When was the last time that they really sat down and talked? The baby had been the main focus for a while now, which was fine because Shouta was amazing. It was nice, the stars were lit and Ai could see the small outline of the nearing town through the trees that lined the small path. 

 

“Oh, I should know Momo! I’ve been helping you way more than a best friend should. Don’t they normally just send a congratulations cards?” Ai giggled, of course he loved helping out with the small baby though. He’d never give up his position as one of his caretakers, someone would have to pry it from his dead hands.

 

Momo tilted his head and his eyes met Ai’s. The golden hue held only a serious gleam, “Ai, that’s why you’re the best. I don’t know what we would do without you.”

 

Ai’s eyes widened for a moment before he turned away with a faint blush. Momo kept making him blush lately, what was with that? Instead of thinking about it or replying to the kind words, Ai swiped the bottle and downed about half the bottle. Momo looked at him a little worried. The smaller boys cheeks were completely red now from a mix of embarrassment and wine.

 

“Ai, are you ok?” Momo panicked a bit when the other boy stumbled slightly. Was it possible for him to be drunk already? 

 

“Yep! Never better! Here!” He took the bottle and pressed it to Momo’s mouth before beginning to tip it, “I’m giving you the rest!”

 

Momo had no choice but to open his mouth and pray that he wouldn’t choke. Once he was done he felt better though… more calm. And that’s when everything went downhill.

 

______

 

Ai and Momo stumbled into a store and looked around. Momo ran forward and brought a magazine close to his face. “Look! Ai, it’s Shouta!”

 

“No ya dummy that’s just a random picture of a baby.” Ai grabbed at the item. 

 

“No! But look! It’s my little Shouta, I miss him so much,” He pressed the paper closer to his chest, “He’s mine and no one can take him from me! Not even you Ai.”

 

Ai suddenly felt upset. His vision became kind of blurry as he hugged his friend in an attempt to get the magazine back, “No! You need to share! Sharing is caring Momo!” 

 

They attracted a few stares, but not many, it was late at night and it was around that time that most drunk people washed through. Both of them were openly crying when a man walked up to them, annoyed yet sympathetic. He seemed to be in his late thirties or early forties, a mini mart apron on and a receding hairline.

 

He placed a large hand on both of them and grinned, “You boys ok?”

 

Both of the boys looked up at him teary eyed and pouting a little, Momo sniffled, “The baby… I miss him.”

 

The man looked slightly taken aback, “What happened to him? He’s not hurtin’ or anythin’ right?”

 

This time Ai looked at the man, cheeks rosey, “No… he’s with his aunt for the night.”

 

The man laughed at this, he remembered the first time he and his wife went out after their daughter was born. They acted similarly to this, getting a little restless and wishing the night would end so that he could just hold his little girl again. Though, he doesn’t remember crying…

 

“Aw guys, that’s nothin’ to cry bout’. You’ll see him soon enough. It happens to all new parents. trust me enjoy the free time you get now.” The guy led them out of the store, “or if ya miss ‘em so much go home. Good luck boys.”

 

They both silently dragged down the path sniffiling under the star patterend sky. Momo slung an arm around his friend and let out a long sigh, “Ai! What am I going to do? I can’t possibly take care of Shouta all on my own, he’s going to hate me!”

 

Ai swatted at the head that landed on his shoulder, “I told you before! You’re going to be an amazing Papa so don’tcha worry. Plus ima be here!”

 

Momo turned uncharacteristically somber for a moment, “Yea for now.”

 

Ai stopped walking, they stood under the dim light of the street lamp outside the older Mikoshiba’s apartment, “Are you crazy! I’m going to be here forever, until you replace me! It’s not my fault if I have to go.”

 

“Replace you? How can I?” Momo grabbed his hand and started walking up the steps.

 

Ai let himself he dragged, “I don’t know. You seem to really want to go on that date with Hana.”

 

Momo leaned closer to his best friend and watched his soft, tiny hands delicately knock on the door, “Well maybe I should go on that date.”

 

He stared into the endless sky blue eyes in front of him. Ai seemed to return the action, “Maybe you should.”

 

“I mean I have nothing else going on in my love life right? Nothing holding me back...” Ai could practically taste the liquor infused puffs of air that left his friends mouth. He only let out a mumble of agreement and closed his eyes.

 

Momo watched as the blue hue he couldn’t seem to get out of his mind disappeared and Ai felt the soft pressure of a hand on the small of his back. They both paused.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


and that’s when the door slammed open

 

Ai fell backwards out of shock and Momo barely caught him before he took a hard tumble down the steps. They heard Gou’s voice through the thick haze that they were in, “Uh. Are you guys ok?”

 

“Yepper doodles! Perfectly fine.” Momo rubbed the back of his neck and let out an awkward sounding chuckle. 

 

Gou moved aside to let them in and Ai tripped in the door frame. Gou looked at them strangely before raising an eyebrow, “Are you both drunk?”

 

“We may have had a teeny bit,” Momo held out a hand for Ai, “But where is Shouta, I want to see him.”

 

“Me too!” Ai wailed and followed his friend to the bassinet in the guest room. 

 

“Are you guys ok? I’m going to go to bed, feel free to stay over.” Gou waved goodnight and the two watched as her shadow disappeared before looking back at the baby. 

 

Momo reached out and stroked the thin hairs on the sleeping child's head, “I missed you. Good night.”

 

Ai pressed a small kiss to the baby's head and Momo coughed, “I guess I'll take the couch tonight. You can stay in here with the baby.”

 

Ai turned, his eyes still half lidded, “Nonsense Momo. I will, you stay here with your baby.”

 

The taller male wordlessly took his wrist and dragged him towards the bed, seating him on it, before unbuttoning and stripping off his shirt. Ai felt his ears turn red, “Momo! What are you doing?”

 

The man in question gave him a weird look, nose scrunched and an eyebrow raised, “I’m going to bed.” Momo pulled off his pants as well and crawled under the covers, too buzzed and tired to care what his friend was thinking.

 

“O-ok. I’m just going to head outside then.” Ai got up to go into the other room but felt something tug his wrist down.

 

“Just stay here, the couch is really uncomfortable.” Momo yawned and stretched his arms above his head. There was really no big deal right? That’s what Ai chanted to himself as he pulled off his shirt. They had slept like that in the past, so it wasn’t weird. Infact, going to bed with their dressy clothes on would have been weird. 

 

They both rested in the dark, thanking god that it was too dark in the room to see the faint blushes. Whatever they were about to do out on those steps would remain a secret, something that will stay unspoken. It was a silent agreement. Ai could feel himself relax and drift off, and just when he was about to let sleep overtake him, Momo whispered to the darkness, “Dear god, I should’ve just done it.” He turned over and didn’t speak after that.

 

_________

 

The next morning Ai’s head was pounding… oh no wait that was the door. He scrambled to get some clothes on, just grabbing the nearest thing, which happened to be Momo’s white button up and throwing it on. His fingers fumbled over the small pieces of plastic and trying to stop the source of noise before the baby woke up. Gou’s fist was about to pound on the door again when the smaller male flung it open, the female's face turning immediately red. 

 

It was the scandalized look on his host's’ face that made him pull his arms closer to his body, trying to cover up as much of himself as possible. Which was insane cause, heck they were on a swim team for who knows how long. And they definitely showed off more skin then than he was now. But then again, a rumpled, poorly buttoned shirt and wrinkled boxers were not the same thing as a swimsuit… and the door frame of guest room of his former captain's house was not the same thing as a swimming pool. 

 

“I uh… I wanted to know if you wanted pancakes.” Gou’s mouth moved, but the rest of her body was frozen still. 

 

Ai nodded, “Uh. Yea sure, just give me a moment.” He closed the door and scrambled to find the extra clothes that Momo leaves in the guest room. He just finished tugging on some running shorts and a t-shirt that hung off his shoulders when Shouta started whining. Ai smiled and retrieved the baby while debating on whether or not he should wake Momo up as well. He decided to let the other male sleep, out of the kindness in his heart and made his way to the kitchen. The house was nice and cozy despite the freezing weather outside, and the fresh smell of pancakes made the silver haired man feel more at ease.

 

“Mornin’. Sleep well?” The oldest Mikoshiba laughed and winked, which made Ai turn a little red. 

 

He coughed, “Just fine. Thanks.” Gou stacked the pancakes while Ai made a bottle and Seijuro held his nephew. They started talking about the wedding, which Ai learned was going to take place sometime in the early spring because they wanted to see the cherry blossoms bloom. Gou was almost as nuts for those perky pink flowers as her brother, and Seijuro had to admit that it would make one hell of a wedding photo. They both seemed so happy as they pecked each other shamelessly in front of the two others. 

 

Ai was going to have to talk to Momo, and soon. His heart had been beating at an unusually fast pace ever since he heard his friend whisper a secret to the wind. And Ai couldn’t bring himself to hate the warm feeling that flooded throughout his body when he thought of anything related to the other boy. It was something weird that started not too long ago, he’d find himself daydreaming more often and his bright spirited friend always seemed to squeeze his way into his hazy dreams. 

 

“Good morning.” Momo yawed and padded into the room. He smiled brightly at his brother and soon to be sister in law before turning the blinding thing on his son and friend.

 

“You look happy,” Seijuro commented smugly, “Something good happen?”

 

Momo laughed and threw an arm around his brother, “Why yes! You should bow down to the all powerful Momotarou.” 

 

“Well, what happened? Though I think I already know.” His brother waggled his eyebrows.

 

“Momo, I think we need to have a talk…” Ai blushed and hastily tugged at the non-budging Mikoshiba.

 

“Oh yea! That reminds me, Ai, could you watch Shouta this weekend?” Momo turned to the stammering boy.

 

“W-why?” Ai was afraid to ask, or more like he was afraid to hear the answer. He still needed to talk to Momo. There were so many unanswered questions that Ai needed to know. He couldn't help but feel like something bad was about to ruin his chances. 

 

“I,” Momo paused to smirk at his brother, “Have a date with Hana!”

  
And that’s the moment when Ai’s heart unknowingly shattered, his questions would remain unanswered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it, sorry for the lack of updates but there will hopefully be more to come!


	6. Why?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well... how long can this keep up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT AND THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A WHILE! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

Maybe it was the fact that he had to endure it at home and at work, or maybe it was the fact that his best friend was acting so strange, but whatever it was Ai has had enough of the overly sweet phone talk. When he was feeding Shouta and asked Momo to get him a napkin, the energetic, normally overly attentive male ignored his pleas and chose to stay on the phone. At work Ai had to wrangle 25 kindergarteners, KINDERGARTENERS, alone and convince all of them to take their naps. How did they not go broke from all the phone bills? I mean it's not like they were working or doing what they were supposed to do! Gosh. Ai had seen Momo with his girlfriends before, but they only lasted a week or so and none of them were this attached. Or annoying. 

 

“No you hang up!” Hana cooed into her cell phone. They had been doing that for five minutes. Five. 

 

Frustrated, Ai snatched the phone from his assistant. Hana opened her mouth to protest but settled for just a pout when she saw her boss’ face. Ai clenched his teeth, “Hi. Yea Momo? I'll be hanging up. Bye.” And he hit the end button. 

 

He got a chance to look at her lock screen, which was probably a mistake cause it made him mad and slightly upset. It was a picture of Momo, Hana, and Shouta. Shouta must have just calmed down from crying because his eyes were all red and he looked rumpled as his father cradled him. Hana was the one taking the photo, holding out the camera to try and get all of them in the frame. Momo had his free arm around her. Honestly what was this? They had been dating all of three days, and Ai had been watching Shouta for two of those days! When the hell did they find time to take that picture?

 

Ai didn't have time to ask before the phone started buzzing again. This time, Hana snatched the phone and smile before answering, “Hi sweetie! Hold on,” Ai nearly growled at her annoyingly sugar tone, “I'm going on my break! I'll be back.”

 

She walked out the door and Ai was tempted to lock it. It was irritating him. This… Relationship. He wasn't sure why though, sure he had some sort of idea, but he wasn't willing to look into. Hana was so lucky that the kids were all asleep. 

 

“Sensei?” Ok, Almost all of them. 

 

“Yes Hinata?” Ai bent down to look at the smaller boy, “what's the matter?”

 

“Sensei! Mari keeps stealing my sleeping spot. And my half of the birdy toy!” The younger boy pouted and extended a small arm towards the sleeping area. Ai followed his finger and let out a small giggle. Mari, a small petite girl, was sleeping next to Kageyama and hugging the top half of a rather large bird plushie. Normally Hinata would lay down next to his Frenemy and refuse to stop talking to him and let him sleep until he got half of the animal. Soon enough Kageyama learned that he had to just fall asleep with half the toy out of his sleeping mat. 

 

“Oh. I see, it's ok hinata, why don't you sleep where Mari normally does?” The silver haired man tried to reason with the young boy. He glanced at the empty spot near the end of the second row.

 

“Because!” Ai put his finger to his lips to remind the child to be quiet, “It's not special.”

 

Ai raised an eyebrow, amused at the child's words, “Not special? But Hinata, don't you dislike Kageyama?”

 

The little boy looked around, slightly flustered. His bright brown eyes focused on the floor, “N-no. Not always. He can be nice s-sometimes. But only sometimes!”

 

Ai crossed his arms while smiling, “Oh I see. So why does Mari keep taking your spot? Have you asked her?”

 

“Yea! She says she's Kageyama’s bride so she has to stay with him. But that's stupid cause I'm his best friend which is way better than a bride.” Ai decided to let the young boy get away with saying one of their naughty words (stupid). 

 

The older male let a playful smirk work its way onto his face, “oh. Is that so? What does Kageyama say about all of this?”

 

The tiny child opened his mouth just to shut it again, quietly mumbling, “He doesn't say anything.”

 

“Have you tried talking to him about it?”

Ai placed a slender hand on the small shoulder of the child in front of him. 

 

Hinata furrowed his eyebrows in thought before smiling and nodding enthusiastically,

“You're right Sensei!”

 

Before Ai could stop him, Hinata was shaking poor Kageyama awake. The blue eyed boy scowled at the bright ball of sunshine that disturbed his slumber, he growled, “what?”

 

“Do you like Mari more than me? You keep just hanging out with her and she sleeps next to you now too!” Hinata pouted. Kageyama looked to his left past Hinata, observing the sleeping female toddler with a confused look. 

 

“I thought  you were next to me. Here, no way I like some dumb girl more.” Kageyama carefully tugged the stuffed plushie from Mari and squished it against his chest as he made room for the other boy under his blanket. Hinata beamed and jumped under the blanket, hugging half of the giant plushie and yawning. 

 

Ai had to resist taking a picture of the pair, it was the only moment of joy that he had felt all day. All the cutesy phone talk and blunt ignoring was getting on his nerves. Not to mention that he hadn’t seen Shouta all day, so that made him extra grumpy. After spending all that time with the small baby he had gotten used to it’s presence and he missed the warmth and slow content breathing.

 

Ai’s moment of joy was ended the moment Hana stepped back into the room. Thankfully she was no longer talking, but her fingers were tapping away at the screen relentlessly. Ai had considered asking for a new assistant, seeing as he could no longer deal with his current one… he really considered the hell out of it, but there was to much paperwork involved. It would be better to just wait until the year was over.

 

“Hana. Can you please help me prepare the afternoon activities for the children?” Ai tapped his foot and waited for a reply, “Hana?”

 

“Mm…” Hana didn’t seem to acknowledge his request. Ai was normally a pretty docile and nice person, but everyone has their limits. This was going too far. 

 

“Hana! Please, Just set the tables or we are going to have a serious problem!” Ai screamed at her in a hushed whisper, she gave him a weird look.

 

“Geez fine, whats got your panties in a twist?” The girl started pulling out various crayons and papers while Ai started to clean up the toys that the kids were previously playing with. He grit his teeth, trying not to scream. The tables were set for the children when they woke up, and by the time the kids were done it looked like a war zone. Ai marveled at the large mess that they made.

 

“Hana I have to watch Shouta today so can you he-” Ai started to pick up a crayon when the classroom door was flung open and he jumped with a squeak. Momo stood in the doorway, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly at the commotion he made. Hana’s eyes lit up as she dropped the colored pencils she was holding, they rolled everywhere, and ran to greet her boyfriend. Ai sighed in frustration. 

 

“Hey! Ai, I don’t need ya to watch Shouta today, it’s cool! Hana wants to take him on our date,” Momo put up his hand as if he were whispering a secret, “She wants us all to bond together!”

 

Ai frowned hard before Hana laughed and caught his attention, “Oh yea I forgot to tell you! I have to leave early, that’s cool right?” 

 

Ai was really tempted to say no. Extremely tempted. But he looked at Shouta and the anger dissolved. The poor boy didn’t have a mom, or at least another parent… if the was a chance for him, then Ai could let it slide. Ai couldn’t always be there to fill in the role right? He could still be that cool uncle.

 

Somehow that just didn’t fit with Ai’s mind. He always pictured himself next to the little boy and his excitable father. The first word, first foods, first walking, first time visiting santa claus… All of it. Now picturing Hana doing all that with the pair seemed… wrong. Wonder why…

 

Even though every fiber of his being said to stop this right now, he just couldn’t. Shouta needed this, and Ai couldn’t take away something that the poor, innocent baby needed. 

 

“Yea… sure…” Ai grumbled and turned his head, feeling an overwhelming amount of emotions come up.

 

“Thanks boss!”

 

“See you Ai!”

 

Why did he feel like crying as the classroom door shut again. He sat there for so long that the automatic lights turned off, leaving him enshrouded in darkness. He didn’t have Shouta to go home to anymore. He didn’t have that obnoxiously wide grin to greet him. He should have felt relieved, this is how it was before the whole baby business. This was his life before, he had more time to himself now… so why…?

 

He ended up ditching the classroom, leaving the mess for the janitor. He was bound to get scolded in the morning but that didn’t matter. He needed answers and now. He just remembered to grab his bag before running out of the school. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he followed a familiar root that he hadn’t taken in a long time. A year or so by now. 

 

He ran up the stairs, three flights and knocked on a yellow door. Ai was still panting and looking down at the ground when the door flew open with an annoyed huff. The boy looked up at a pair of red eyes and felt tears prick at his own. 

  
Ai dropped to the ground crying and clutching at the fabric above his heart, “Rin-Senpai, Why does it hurt so much?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh... This could have been better... thoughts? Im going to try to update at least bi-weekly now! :)


	7. Under my roof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am sooooo sorry for not updating! But they're just stupid boys again. Cliche fluff? hopefully not too cliche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI IM SO SORRY. I KNOW I SAID I WAS GOING TO START REGULARLY UPDATING BUT THEN I GOT SUPER SIDETRACKED AND STUFF AND LOST INSPIRATION FOR A BIT BUT IM BACK NOW! I HATE WHEN PEOPLE DONT FINISH FICS SO IM TRYING MY BEST NOT TO BE THAT KIND OF PERSON. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!

Rin had gotten home that day at one o’clock, which was very nice considering that he’d normally have to stay at the pool until six. He got home, took a nice two hour soak in the tub and boiled some water to make an early dinner. He emailed Sousuke, who was coming into town for a while and was going to be staying with him, he did the crossword, watched some TV, and snuggled into his couch with a bowl of ramen at around three. It was overall an extremely calming day. 

 

Well, it was calming until he heard hysteric pounding on his door and opened it to find a bawling Aiichiro on his doorstep. 

 

“Rin-senpai, why does it hurt so much?” The boy collapsed after that. Passed out, leaving a very confused Rin to drag him into the small apartment. When was the last time Rin had seen the other boy? It was about three months ago, maybe four? They went out to get tea together, along with Gou, Nagisa, and Haru who stopped by for a visit. What the hell happened in those months since he’s seen the poor silver haired boy.

 

Rin was half tempted to kick Ai awake, his frustrated curiosity almost getting the better of him. He decided to be nice though and just let him sleep on the couch, the dark circles under his eyes were evident. The redhead sighed, deciding to just continue with dinner until his companion awoke and was ready to tell the story.

 

It didn’t take long for Ai to stir, groggily raising his head off the pillow that Rin had provided, “W-where am I?”

 

“Yo. You’re at my place, what did you need?” Ai shot up fast after hearing Rin’s voice. He looked around, the blanket pooling at his waist. There was a nice coffee table, clear and made of glass, right in front of the couch, and a big TV in front of that. The throw rug looked soft and plush and quite frankly not Rin-like at all, and the walls were a shocking deep red color.

 

Ai returned his attention back to Rin, “Oh. Um. It’s kind of a long story.”

 

“Well, I’ve more or less got time. Sousuke is coming in a few hours so you can tell me before he comes.” Rin took a seat next to his friend and gave him a smile. 

 

Ai started fidgeting, this was harder than he originally thought, “Well. Um. You know how I’ve been helping Momo out with Shouta?”

 

Rin raised an eyebrow, “Shouta?”

 

“Shouta. You know, Momo’s son?” Rin stared at Ai like he had three heads. Son?

 

Rin stood up to face Ai, “Momo has a kid? Holy shit, what the hell! How? Did he knock some girl up? I thought we taught him better than that! Fuck!”

 

Ai looked sheepishly up at his elder, “No he adopted a baby.”

 

“What?! Why? He’s a baby himself! He doesn't even have a partner or anything! Unless… wait Ai what’s going on?”

 

Ai waited a moment to see if Rin would say something else, and when he was sure that the redhead was finished he opened his mouth, “Well. He kinda adopted after I said something to him.”

 

“What did you say to him?” Rin gave his friend the oddest look ever, “You didn’t tell him you wanted kids or anything right?”

 

Rin knew that momo would go to extremes to make Ai happy. And if he wanted a kid then he was getting a damn kid. Though Rin found it weird that they never out rightly said that they were dating or anything, Rin wouldn't judge. Too much. 

 

“W-what? No! I just said that he’d make a good father and he went out and adopted a baby. I just meant that the kindergarteners liked him. I swear!”  Ai waved his hands up frantically, Rin looked at him to continue, “Ok well. I've been helping him with the baby like a good friend. Shouta is so cute and I love him so much! Anyways, Momo started dating my assistant a-”

 

“Wait. You're not dating Momo?” 

 

“N-no! Why would you even think that.” He squeaked. When Rin just gave him an ‘Are you really that surprised I thought of that’ look, Ai just shook his head, “O-ok. Back on topic, my assistant and Momo have been in this really annoying relationship. And I barely see Shouta anymore and now… I don't know. I'm just…” Ai held his face in his hands to cover the red blush that was spreading. 

 

Rin sat there for a moment. Pondering on what he should do to help the younger male. He didn't want to sugar coat anything, that wasn't his style. But being blunt right now could break the poor kid. 

 

“Have you talked to Momo? Maybe if you talk to him it'll make you feel better.” 

 

Ai looked up at his elder as if he suggested bungee jumping of a bridge using a rubber band, “No. But I can't just talk to him, I wouldn't know what to say. I hate your girlfriend and I want to spend time with your baby? Oh gosh I sound like an awful person on drugs!”

 

“Ai you just need to fucking talk to him. You know Momo is about as dense as a brick and just as oblivious.” Rin kicked his feet up on the coffee table and turned his exasperated look on Ai.

 

The other male just stared down at his hands, whispering in a mouse like voice, “I just… I can’t. I don’t even know what to say to him about this.” Ai looked up with tears pooling in his eyes, “I don’t want to be like this. I feel so worthless! I want to be happy for them but I can’t. Why!”

 

“You’re asking me?” Rin chuckled a bit, though worried about the condition of his friend. Ai must have been stressing out a lot if he passed out right before him. He looked at the desperate expression again and bit his lip, was he really going to have to spell it out for Ai? Hopefully he would give the boy a few hints and maybe he would get it. Rin got up to get a water bottle, “Ok. Ai, why do you think you don’t like their happiness?”

 

“Because I’m a terrible person!” The silver haired boy threw his head back, openly sobbing. Rin didn’t know whether to feel sympathetic or if he should just think that the boy was being overly pathetic. 

 

He chose to think that Ai was being pathetic. He brought a fist down onto Ai’s forehead, “I’m being serious. Don’t make me regret helping you.”

 

Sniffling, Ai sat up and rubbed his head, “Well, I miss spending time with Shouta and Momo…”

 

“And?” Rin pushed. C’mon Ai! He was supposed to be the smart kohai. 

 

“And… I want to be there, watching Shouta grow up.”

 

“And?”

 

Ai turned to face him again, “And what? I don’t understand!”

 

Rin let out a frustrated groan and threw his head into his hands, “Let’s make this simple. Cause your not fucking getting this. How do you feel when you’re with Shouta? Was that the kids name?”

 

“Yes,” Ai nodded, “Rin-senpai, what does this have to do with anything?”

 

“I just need a one word answer Ai! Do you want me to help you or not!,” the redhead growled, “And stop it with the senpai stuff, we graduated a long time ago!”

 

“Happy?”

 

“And how do you feel when you’re with Momo and Shouta?”

 

“...happy?”

 

“And how about when you're with Hana, Momo, and Shouta?” 

 

“No offense, but I don't see how this is helping.” Ai wailed. He needed answers, not a game of twenty questions.

 

Rin glared at him, “I told you to just answer the damn questions didn't I? You'll soon see.”

 

* * *

“And this is when we first brought him home from shopping!” Momo reached over the table and showed his screen to Hana. She had a strained smile on, tired and annoyed with all the photos that Momo had been showing her. They had arrived at the nice restaurant, the one Hana wanted to go to. But they wouldn't let Shouta in, they claimed that if he cried it would ruin the atmosphere. So they eventually settled down in a nice family restaurant about a block away. They were not terribly overdressed, thank god. But they still did look nicer than the majority of people in the eating facility. Hana had inwardly pouted, she had dressed extra nice that day, just to go to the restaurant. She was starting to regret asking Momo to bring Shouta along. But she had to look like a good girlfriend, who cared about the little pip squeak, even if he did just ruin her plans.

 

The baby himself wasn’t very pleased with Hana. People say that young children are the best judges of character. The young Mikoshiba would fuss and squirm until his father or Ai would take him. It was perfectly fine with Hana though, she wasn’t in it for the baby. She would care for him, definitely, but nothing like an over affectionate mother would. 

 

“And, oh look!” Momo laughed again, switching the photo, “That’s when Ai gave him his bath. That was when we went on our date I think!”

 

Hana’s eyes glossed over the photo, “Very. Interesting.” She rolled her eyes a bit. The energetic man would always show her photos of the kid. And her boss too. The photo he was currently cooing at was no different from the other ones. Ai had taken a photo of himself and Shouta with bubble suds all over them while making weird faces. 

 

“Aren’t they just so cute! I think I’m going to set this one as my lock screen,” Momo fiddled with his phone for a moment, “Now I can see this whenever I turn on my phone!”

 

Shouta made a happy noise from his highchair and waved a chubby hand at his father. Hana groaned again, “What about the picture of all of us?”

 

Momo scrunched his nose up a bit, “Yea I like that one. But Shouta looks so much happier in this! Look at his smile!”

 

“But you’re not even in that photo. Your friend is.” Hana quipped, “How come you want them to be your background and not us.” 

 

“Don’t worry! I’m sure that we will take a bunch more pictures with Shouta and he’ll be all happy and stuff in them,” Momo laughed her off, “Let’s take one right now!”

 

Momo picked Shouta up out of the chair and held him, motioning for Hana to join him on the other side of the booth. When she sat down and leaned her head in towards Shouta, he started crying. Momo let out a sheepish chuckle, “Well, it seems like he’s not in a picture taking mood right now. Sorry!”

 

“No, no, it figures. Maybe he just doesn’t like me,” Hana smiled, “Maybe he’s just a daddy’s boy since he won’t go to anyone else.”

 

“Nah,” Momo placed Shouta back into the seat, “He’s just gotta warm up to you! It took him a while to warm up to my brother and his fiance too.”

 

“What about sensei?” Hana tilted her head curiously.

 

Momo gave her a strange look, “Sensei? Oh! You mean Ai.”

 

Hana nodded, “Yea him. Did Shouta not like him too?”

 

The orange haired male put on a pondering look, “Hm. No not really. Sometimes I think that Shouta may like him more than he likes me!”

 

Hana found his laugh to be weird. You can’t laugh at something like that! Your child isn’t supposed to love your insignificant friend more! Especially if he doesn’t even like the person who may one day be his mother. Hana grit her teeth a bit, “Don’t you find that weird though? You’re Shouta’s father. Should he love you more than some friend of yours?”

 

“Ai isn’t just some friend! And I guess it’s kind of weird,” Momo’s laugher died out and was replaced by a dark and confused look, “But I mean, Ai does spend a lot of time with him. Even more than me sometimes. But he’s been really helpful! Since Shouta doesn’t have a mom and stuff and I’m basically helpless in the caretaking department.”

 

Momo turned his head to look at Shouta and Hana coughed, “If you have no clue how to raise a child, how come you adopted him?”

 

“It was more or less an impulse…” Momo scratched the back of his head, “Ai had told me a little while before I got him that I’d be a good dad. So when an adoption agency add came up for the local orphanage I just went to go check it out.”

 

“Weren’t you worried though?” Hana was suddenly a little concerned for the child. She might not love him, but she didn’t want to see a child get hurt. She wasn’t a monster! 

Momo shook his head and took a sip of water, “Nah, I have Ai so there’s nothing to worry about! He’s awesome with kids!” Hana never imagined herself having kids, especially after working at the school. It wasn’t her thing. After that school year she was probably going to search for another job. Kids didn’t like her the way they liked her boss. Taking care of them seemed to come so naturally to him. He was so nurturing towards them, like a mother hen. Yet she had to fight off urges to scream her head off all the time. Yes, in the child department, Ai was definitely a master. 

 

“Hi guys, I’m Sue and I’ll be your waitress. Is there anythin’ I could get ya?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Ai!” Rin was pushing his face into the couch, “You need to stop! Just fucking think!”

 

“Ah that hurts! Let go!” Ai flailed around. Rin had tried everything to subtly tell Ai that he had some sort of feelings for the other male. But he was being stubbornly oblivious, so Rin had to resort to violence. He was deaf to the insistent banging coming from the front door.

 

“Rin! Are you home?” Came Sousuke’s voice. Ai thanked god that his other elder had shown up before Rin could do more damage than trying to suffocate him with the couch cushion. Rin let go of Ai with a loud sigh, making his way to the door.

 

Swinging it open, Rin glared up at the taller person, “You need to help.”

 

Sousuke gave him a confused look but obediently followed him into the living room where a crying Ai hung off the couch. Sousuke turned to Rin, mouth opening and closing, “What?”

 

“He doesn’t know what to do about Momo and Shouta.” Sousuke tilted his head again and Rin threw his arms up in frustration, “Momo has a kid now.”

 

“What?” Sousuke didn’t yell in confusion like Rin had, he was more in mild shock, “You mean. Like… What?”

 

“Momo has a kid. And this idiot doesn’t know what to say to him.” Rin raised an eyebrow at his childhood friend. Sousuke just stared back, he was missing something. This information just wasn’t adding up. He was almost one hundred percent sure that his initial idea was completely off base because, for one thing, Ai was a guy. And his idea was biologically impossible. But he couldn’t exactly come up with a reason why Ai would have to tell his former energetic Kohai anything related to a child. Unless Momo knocked up some relative of his.

 

So Sousuke could only come up with two explanations, two that did not make very much sense whatsoever. Either Ai somehow defied the laws of biology and is currently with child or someone close to him is. 

 

“Sousuke!” Rin snapped at him. He hadn’t realized how much he had zoned out. 

 

The tall male was still in shock, “How?”

 

Ai looked up from his blanket fort he had made, “He adopted. It was only a little while ago, I thought Gou would have at least told you guys.”

 

“Oh.” That would make a lot more sense. Sousuke felt slightly stupid, though he looked at Rin who laughed.

 

“Haha! It’s ok,” He patted Sousuke’s back as if he read his mind, “My first thought was ‘Momo had a kid? Like, someone actually fucked with the guy?’ So you’re not weird or anything.” 

 

“Wait, so what do you have to tell him?” Ai tensed up again at the question. 

 

The small male hugged his knees up to his chest, “I… I don’t know.”

 

Sousuke sighed, closing his eyes and resting a hand on the boys shaking form, “Well if you love each other the baby thing shouldn't be too much of a problem. You’re a kindergarten teacher right? You’re good with kids, what's so bad about having one of your own? It was bound to happen sooner or later, though, marriage would normally come before. But knowing Momo, he probably couldn’t wait, right? He probably read an ad or heard you say something to a parent that made him go get you a kid. He’s kinda dumb like that, but it’s all part of why you love him right?” 

 

Love…? Ai felt his ears turn hot. No, that couldn’t be. Love? That… wasn’t something he had felt for a long time, not since he was a teenager and even back then it was the adolescent puppy version. It couldn’t be real. Not his best friend. That was utterly ridiculous! 

 

Except. Maybe it wasn’t. Sousuke and Rin were childhood friends, and Ai was almost sure that they really liked each other. So were Haruka and Makoto, those two were practically married. And last Ai had heard from Nagisa, he and Rei were vacationing somewhere in America. So… was it so weird? It was Momo though. Momo charmed everyone he's ever met with his sweet personality. And now he’s Momo, the really kind father of a beautiful baby boy. He’s Ai’s best friend who’s dating a girl and will probably marry her so Shouta has a good mother. He’s the previous backstroke swimmer with the power to make Ai laugh and smile and oh god. 

 

Maybe. Just maybe it was love.

 

Sousuke’s eyes snapped open when he heard a squeak and saw as Ai pulled the blanket over his head. What? Sousuke thought that his speech was pretty good! It sounded like something that Makoto would come up with. He was proud of it, well, that was until he saw Rin facepalm and mutter, “Sousuke you dumbass.”

 

He felt Rin tug his wrist and Sousuke let himself be dragged out of the apartment, back into the cold air. Rin unlocked the door and pulled it close behind him before slapping Sousuke upside the head, “You need to learn how to read the mood!”

 

“What? What did I say?” The previous swimmer was thoroughly confused, “I don’t understand.”

 

“They’re not dating so quit it with the love shit!” Rin hushed screamed at him. Sousuke’s eyes grew comically wide with realization and the redhead sighed for what had to be the thousandth time that night, “I’ve been trying to get him to realize how he felt for the past hour and you went and outrightly told him! He’s probably shocked shitless right now!”

 

“Wait, so what was he trying to tell Momo?”

 

Rin placed his head in his hand, “Momo is dating his assistant and I guess now that he realizes how he feels, he has to tell Momo.”

 

Rin was about to scold Sousuke again for being oblivious to the situation when the front door opened and Ai poked his head out, “T-thank you both for your help. But I’ve decided. I absolutely can not tell him.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Why won’t he stop crying!” Momo wailed hysterically. Half way through their meal Shouta started to cry and just wouldn’t stop. They eventually had to leave the restaurant, and Momo was in a panic. Shouta had never done this before, he would normally stop after his diaper was changed or he was fed. But this time he just wouldn’t, “Why don’t you try holding him?”

 

Hana shrieked, “What! No, why!” Hana never had to hold a crying baby, and she didn’t really want to have her first experience right then. But she took Shouta from him nonetheless. Shouta calmed for a moment, turning to rub his cheek against the soft silk shirt before crying out again even harder. 

 

“Shouta! Please stop crying. C’mon baby, stop crying.” Momo tried to rub his back while Hana held him. 

 

The female thrust the child back into Momo’s arms, “Take him back!”

 

Momo tried desperately to rock him back and forth, whispering to him, “Please baby. Just go to sleep. Calm down.”

 

“Ah! Just shut him up!” Hana held her ears, “Isn’t there anything you can do?”

 

Momo kissed his head and handed him back to an unwilling Hana, “Hold on. I think I have an idea.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Are you stupid! Why!” 

 

Ai focused his attention on the ground, “I can’t.”

 

“And why the hell not!” Rin had to refrain from hitting the smaller male. All of Rin’s work would not go to waste! Sousuke put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

 

“Because… what good would telling him do?” Ai let out a pathetic laugh, “Destroy a friendship? Hana is a great assistant and she would make a… great… mom…”

 

“Ai,” Rin lightly chuckled and guided them all back inside, “There is no way that Momo is marrying that girl.”

 

“H-how come?” Ai sniffled sitting back down on the sofa, “They get along really well.”

 

“You’re acting really weird right now,” Rin softly punched his temple, “You know that they aren’t going to last. It’s Momo.”

 

“I… I still don’t even know if I actually l-like him! It’s probably a mistake. I just need more sleep,” Ai held his head, “The kids really tired me out today! My ears are even ringing.”

 

“No… That’s an actual ringing, is this your phone?” Rin looked at the buzzing phone on the coffee table, “Ai I think you should answer it.”

 

The boy pried open his eyes to look at the caller ID. It was Hana? His nose scrunched up as he slid it open and willed his voice to not sound weird, “Hello?”

 

_ “Oh! Ai! Thank god you picked up I- hey are you crying?” _ Momo’s voice came through the speakers    
  


Ai shook his head, “No. I uh… just woke up. What’s wrong?”

 

He heard a certain panic in Momo’s voice, “ _ Where are you right now? _ ”

 

“I’m over at Rin-Senpai’s house with Yamazaki-Senpai. Why? What’s wrong?” Ai felt worry creep into his own voice. When he didn’t hear an answer he pulled the phone from his ear, only to find that Momo had hung up on him.

 

“Who was it Ai?” Rin set a glass of water in front of the boy.

 

Ai quickly stood up, “I need to go!”   
  


He started running towards the door, nearly knocking over the water by bumping into the coffee table. He hurriedly pulled his shoes on tugged his coat from Rin’s coat rack. He swung the heavy door open and was nearly out it when he felt something tug him back, “Let me go!”

 

“Who was that?” Sousuke’s calm voice asked the struggling boy. 

 

Ai pawed at the arm Sousuke had around his neck, “It was Momo. Something's wrong I have to go!”

 

“Slow down there,” Rin patted his shoulder, “What did he say exactly?”

 

“He just asked where I was,” Ai tried to wriggle free, “But his voice sounded weird and he just hung up on me!”

 

“And where do you plan to go?” Rin held Ai’s hands down, “You have no clue where he is.”

 

“B-but! I have to go look at least!” Ai started to kick and narrowly missed Rin’s shin. He needed to go make sure that they were ok. He just had to! He started flinging his entire body around, making both his elders grips tighten around him. They had to let him go! Let go, Let go , Let g- Ai stopped when he heard a faint crying. Rin and Sousuke must have heard it too because they let their grips loosen. Ai was able to wriggle out of the grasps of both his friends and run down the apartment steps, with Rin and Sousuke quickly running after him.

 

“Shouta!” Ai cried out, “Momo!”

 

“Ai! Were coming up!” Ai let out a sigh of relief when he heard Momo’s voice and slowed his pace down. They met halfway up the staircase, Shouta still hysterically crying. Momo had him cradled against his chest, both him and Hana out of breath from no doubtedly running. Hana was obviously not happy, she was holding her heels in her hands and she glared up at Ai. 

 

Ai turned around to call back to Rin and Sousuke, “They’re here! Go back to the apartment!”

 

“Ai!” Momo cried, gaining Ai’s attention back, “Shouta won’t stop crying!”

 

“What do you mean? Have you fed him? Or changed him?” Ai guided the rest of them back up the stairs to the hall way. Momo faced Shouta to him and nodded, “Here let me take him.”

 

Momo handed him over and watched as Ai rested Shouta’s head against his shoulder and cupped his bottom. He bounded in place for a moment and gestured for all of them to walk back to the apartment. Hana pushed her way past them, rocks pricking at her feet with every step. Rin allowed her to pass him, a little too stunned to stop her. He and Sousuke were still standing in the doorways, waiting for their previous teammates to come in. 

 

Shouta had calmed down, recognizing the familiar cradle and scent. His breathing started to regulate as his cries slowly came to a stop and sniffles replaced the sobs. Ai giggled as he turned and buried his nose in the soft tufts of hair, “Shh. It’s alright.”

 

“H-how did you do that?” Momo felt like crying himself. He had felt so powerless before. But at least Shouta was ok, his baby was ok.

 

Ai turned to him, not expecting the extremely greatful smile that made him feel warm, “I… Don’t know.”

 

Shouta yawned loudly and started to doze off, a bit of drool leaking onto Ai’s shoulder. The duckling felt the baby’s breathing as it matched up with his own and steady out into a calm rhythm.

 

The two stood there for a moment, watching the little thing sleep. It was so peaceful and serene, a little smile gracing the toothless mouth. To Shouta, it felt like home. He was with the two people that loved him the most in the world and would do anything for him. He felt safe and swaddled with love, he was completely at peace.

 

Ai gasped as he felt the small body shiver against his own and snuggle closer for warmth, “We should probably go inside. He’s cold.”

 

Ai blushed as Momo nodded and placed his forehead on Shouta’s and bumped into his own, “Yep! He’s a bit chilly.”

 

The two smiled at each other when Momo backed up. One was grateful and the other harboring a secret unknown to both of them. Ai averted his eyes back to the baby mass cradled in his arms and started chattering away, “We’re you being mean to your papa?”

 

“Oh he definitely was. You had me so worried. All you wanted was to see Ai. You sure are weird,” Momo trailed behind Ai, grabbing onto one of his son’s hands. Ai playfully rolled his eyes at the small bantering, but paused when Momo started to whisper to the sleeping figure, “But I want to see him all the time too, so I guess we’re both weird.”

 

They found their two former teammates waiting for them, Rin with a satisfied smirk and Sousuke with a proud smile. Ai quickly scuttled pass them while Momo was scolded for not informing them of the addition of Shouta.

 

Sitting on the couch, Ai turned to talk to Hana, a forced smile gracing his lips, “So, I take it that the date didn’t go too well?”

 

“Nope. It was awful! Shouta is a handful,” Hana returned the fake grin, “But he seems to like you a lot.”

 

“Oh, I’m sure he will warm up to you.” Ai felt a bit sorry for her. Shouta was a big part of Momo’s life and if he didn’t like her, it was sure to end up badly. Ai wanted Shouta to like her, for Shouta’s own sake. 

 

Hana waved her hand, “Nah. I don’t think he will. Plus I don’t really care if he does.”

 

“What?”

 

The girl let out a laugh, “Like me, Hate me. He’s just a kid. It’s not like he can do anything about my relationship with his dad.”

 

“But Shouta is a huge part of Momo’s life now. He can’t just date around. Shouta’s his responsibility.” Ai unconsciously moved the youngest Mikoshiba away from the girl.

 

Hana just tilted her head ignorantly, “But can’t you just watch him for us?”

 

“For the rest of our lives?” Ai was stunned at the girl's words. Was she dense or did she really not care about Shouta at all? She was a nice girl, that Ai knew. She was spoiled and a bit bratty at times also, but this was far too much. Wasn’t it?

 

Hana placed a hand on Ai’s shoulder, “Yea! That'd be great! You can even let him call you mom,” She laughed, “I don’t really want that title anyways.”

 

“But…What about when Momo wants to do family stuff?” 

 

Hana pondered for a moment, “Like picnics and the zoo and stuff? Well I guess you can do that with them too if you want. I don’t really like that kind of stuff.”

 

“Eh! But Hana! That’s what you’re going to have to do! You’re dating a dad, not some carefree bachelor!” 

 

The girl sat there for a moment, tilting her head, “I don’t quite understand what you’re saying.”

 

“I’m saying that you have to do all that family stuff with them. Momo needs to date people that would make a suitable parent for Shouta, not some carefree idiot!” 

 

Hana gasped at the silver haired males harsh look. It was so foreign to his usually calm and happy face, “Oh yea! Then who would be good enough to take care of Shouta?”

 

Ai wasn’t expecting her to fight back. Maybe say a few words in protest, but not fight back. She knew she wouldn’t make a good parent. Not in the long run. Ai had lots of reasons why, but he never thought that she’d ask that question.

 

His ears turned red and he turned away from her, gently rocking the infant that started to fuss again. Hana’s eyes grew as well as her smirk, “No way! You’re kidding right? Does he know?”

 

Ai turned to deny her thoughts when the three others walked in. Momo turned to Hana, “It’s getting a bit late, why don’t I walk you to the bus stop? It’s the least I can do haha!”

 

“Oh why sweetie?” Hana latched onto the boy’s arm, “What about you?”

 

Oblivious to the tension, Momo laughed, “We’re going to stay over here for the night.”

 

“We?” Hana pouted, not pleased with how the night was about to end.

 

Momo nodded, “Yea. Me and Shouta and Ai too! Right Ai?”

 

“M-me?”

 

“Yea you! Shouta might cry again and he needs you!” Momo smiled, “Can you watch him for a bit while I go walk Hana down?” 

 

Ai nodded with a tired smile, “We might be in bed by the time you come back,” He said yawning, “I’m tired.”

 

Momo kissed the top of Shouta’s head, “Of course!” He laughed and straightened up a bit. Pushing Ai’s bangs back he pecked at his forehead too, “Thanks.”

 

Ai just sat and waited for them to leave before he let his breath go. He slumped against the couch as both Rin and Sousuke sat on the coffee table in front of him, giving him the same look.

 

“Ai, I am a cool senpai, but I have one rule. There will be no fucking under my roof, got it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Ok? not? Do you like hana? haha I hope you liked the chapter at least!


End file.
